


It Must Be Broken

by LunarAnime



Category: Bleach, Blood-C (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bayonetta References, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Developing Friendships, Drakengard 3 References, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Loss of Parent(s), Nightmares, Past Character Death, Rating May Change, Road Trips, Saya is Bad at Feelings, Slow Burn, Strong Female Characters, Tags May Change, The Bleach Ensemble Being Child Soldiers as Usual, Trust Issues, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 22,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25142812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarAnime/pseuds/LunarAnime
Summary: War is beginning and humanity has a short period of time before they're forced to live in constant fear and become an Elder Barin's meal. Saya, discovering this must join a group of ragtag teens and centuries old Shinigami if there's to be any hope for the world.
Relationships: Abarai Renji & Inoue Orihime & Ishida Uryuu & Kuchiki Rukia & Kurosaki Ichigo & Sado "Chad" Yasutora, Kurosaki Ichigo/Kisaragi Saya, Matsumoto Rangiku & Kisaragi Saya, Watanuki Kimihiro & Kisaragi Saya
Kudos: 7





	1. A Strange New Student

Liquid was rushing down my throat. This...taste is so familiar. Soon I began gagging. Thrashing around, I made it to the top only to stare in horror. I'm in this sea of blood. I was naked expect for the thick red blood covering me. Wha-what's happening? I crumbled on top of a red stained piece of land. My breathing was heavy and my heart felt like it was about to explode.

"This is all your fault."

"How dare you do this to us!"

I quickly turned around to see Nono and Nene floating in this sick excuse of a sea. Nene was ripped in half while Nono's head was bashed in causing parts of her brain to be visible.

"Everyone in Ukishima died because you were weak. How could you allow yourself to be tricked like that?! Why couldn't you have been killed? It's not like anyone would miss you except Fumito. You can't even figure out your own emotions damn it!"

A wet thud made me snap my head around. I stopped breathing. Kanako's body was laying barely an inch away from me. Her neck looked like it had been bitten by a wild animal. My vision blurred, I felt something cold and hard press against the back of my head. No! Not again!

My eyes snapped open, I was covered in a thin layer of sweat. I'm in a small unfurnished room and the only thing separating me from the floor is a black sleeping bag. While staring at the ceiling I tried to calm down my breathing. I don't feel sorry they're all dead but in the deepest pit of my stomach I can feel her. How heartbroken and betrayed she felt. She genuinely loved them. And it disgusts me. After turning my alarm off I headed for the bathroom where I prepared for the day. Leaving the blazer and bow off I grabbed my sword wrapped in a red cloth along with my keys and school bag before leaving for the shop.

I knocked against the wooden double doors.

Watanuki opened the door with a small smile, "Good morning Saya," he led me towards the dinning room. "You came for your guimauve, correct?" I nodded, turning my head to look out the window at the slowly rising sun. Different shades of orange and red mixing together to create something beautiful.

Hearing a small click, I looked at a table to see the baby pink treats in a clear container. I could only imagine how horrified most would be if they found out what this was made of. 

"Thanks," was my short monotone reply.

He took a slow puff from his pipe, "I'm glad your going back to school. I think it would be good for you, not just education wise," there was a teasing edge to his voice like he knew something I didn't.

"What do you mean by that? What other benefits would there be besides learning?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

Watanuki let out a light laugh, "Shouldn't you be on your way to school by now?" Huffing through my nose I walked away. While leaving I heard a cheerful, "Have a good day!"

I ate my guimauve on the way to school then threw the container away. My stomach instantly felt less empty and I wasn't as lethargic. Slowing to a stop, I took a moment to scan the place. This brings back memories. People began whispering as I walked the halls trying to find the principal's office.

"She looks kinda scary, don't ya think?"

"I know. Look at that glare!"

"Her hair is so long. I wonder how she grew it out so much...?" I felt a light bump against my back.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" I quickly spun around to see a short female with green hair in a bob style. Her sharp eyes matched her hair.

"It's fine." The girl kept going on and on. "I said it's fine," her body tensed at my hostile tone. Sweat beaded down the side of her head. I took a deep breath. "Can you show me the principle's office?"

"Oh! Of course I can. Follow me."

Closing the door behind me, I noticed the same girl leaning against a wall. "You're still here."

"I figured I would show you to your class. Is that alright?" she looked down at the floor while twiddling with her thumbs. She grinned when I nodded, "My name's Takahashi Kanna. What's yours?"

"Kisaragi Saya." The bell rang signaling we were running behind.

She tugged on my arm, "Let's hurry!"

"Ta da! Welcome to your classroom!" Takahashi opened her arms wide. She's acting like I'm going on an adventure. 

"Thanks."

"No problem. Do you want me to show you around after class?" I nodded and she waved before jogging off. I sighed. Time to get this over with.

* * *

Sunlight trickled into the classroom, making the scene seem almost ethereal. Students talked among themselves while the teacher arranged papers on her desk.

"Alright class, settle down," once everyone was silent and seated Ochi continued on, "We have a new student who will be joining us today and I expect all of you to play nice." Talking filled the room before a sharp knock made the students pipe down.

"Come in!" The door sled open and a tall and intimidating female carrying a sword strode in. "Go on and introduce yourself to the class."

"Kisaragi Saya." The atmosphere quickly became awkward. She was completely unemotional. There was something about her that made the hairs on your neck stand on end, a sense of danger. Having a weapon certainly didn't help her case neither did the 'I'm going to slaughter you' glare she had going on.

"You can take a seat next to Kurosaki. He's the orange one." Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, and Chad warily looked between each other. Clearly the five of them felt that strange reiatsu practically flooding the room as soon as she walked in.

* * *

All the staring is really getting on my nerves. Minding your own business isn't that difficult.

I began packing my bag when the bell rang.

"Alright, enjoy your lunch and behave while I'm gone. I'm looking at you Kurosaki and your group of delinquents!" Ochi furiously shook her black book at him.

His eyebrow twitched, "We're not delinquents!"

"Sure you aren't," she said while leaving. I suddenly got the feeling of someone looming behind me. Quickly turning around, I see a red-headed girl with purple eyes and glasses. Her fingers were curled and she had this perverted look on her face.

I glared, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get a good feel of those breas—ack!"

A girl with messy short black hair paired with brown eyes punched her in the stomach. "Stop trying to molest the newbie, you pervert!"

"Why must you stop me from fulfilling my dream, Tatsuki?" a comical amount of tears streamed down her face. What is even happening? 

"Hi! My name's Inoue Orihime, what's yours?" I blinked owlishly.

"She introduced herself in the beginning of class Orihime," a guy with glasses pointed out to her.

"Oh! I completely forgot, I'm sorry!"

"Kisaragi Saya." She gave me a blinding smile.

The door sled open and Takahashi's head poked in, "Kisaragi! Come on!" Without saying goodbye, I grabbed my things before speed walking out the room. I got a strange feeling from Inoue and Glasses, mainly Kurosaki. I should avoid them if I don't want any problems. I want an uneventful stay here but with my luck that's not likely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know why or how I began shipping Saya and Ichigo but it's happening. This has been crossposted on Quotev, there are a lot more chapters on there but I'll try to get them all on ao3 as quickly as I can. Feedback is always welcome. Until next time people!


	2. This Means War

Takahashi gave me a tour of the entire school. We stopped in front of a stairwell a few hallways down from my class.

"Do you want to have lunch together?" she sounded hopeful.

"...I'll pass."

Takahashi's face fell, "Well, if you need anything just let me know." I nodded and she walked away. I'll head to class now even though it's early.

As I sled open the door the five students I got a weird feeling from quickly stopped talking. Making no move to sit down, I closed the door behind me. A midget with short black hair and violet eyes stood up then crossed her arms. She was giving me a death glare.

"What are you doing at this school?" she all but demanded. Inoue looked nervous while Glasses seemed to be expecting this to happen. Kurosaki was scowling and the tall guy had a blank expression. I threw my bag on top of my desk narrowly missing Kurosaki. His scowl deepened.

"Learning." The bell rang and I heard footsteps coming closer. Probably Ochi. I sat down in my seat and right on cue she and a few other students came in. During class I made sure to never let go of my sword.

I can finally go home. Quickly grabbing my things I rushed out the building. Like hell I'm going to get cornered by those guys. After I was a fair distance away my steps slowed to a casual stroll. 

Haphazardly throwing my school bag and katana in the corner of my bedroom, I unzipped a navy colored duffle bag that was on the ground and changed into a black tank top and dark red shorts. While rolling out my sleeping bag I heard inhuman screaming and crashing. Time to go. Ripping the cloth on my sword off, I rushed out the apartment complex barefoot and my hair down.

Multiple streets over a swarm of Elder Bairns were coming out of The Gates of Hell. What looked to be lumps were towards the middle of the hoard. Wait—that's the "group of delinquents." There seems to be a few other people as well. A gorilla-like Elder Barin with four arms noticed me . The Elder's skin was purple and dressed in dark ridges. Using their arms to walk, the being came closer. The Old One had a single gigantic eye, its mouth was open and crowded with extremely sharp teeth.

"Join us in the war, young one." Unsheathing my weapon, I dropped the scabbard next to me.

My sword made an audible slicing sound when I pointed it at the Barin, "What war?"

"The war against humans! What else would I be speaking of?! The Shrovetide must be broken! Who are these pathetic beings to control how much and when we eat?! We are superior!"

Giving a harsh glare, I allowed my breathing to deepen and stepped back into a stance. That bloodthirsty part of me all to happy to slaughter the Elders in front of me, "I'm not joining."

"THEN PERISH, TRAITOR!" The Bairn's shout alerted the others. They all rushed at me.

* * *

"What is she doing here?! She's gonna get killed!" Ichigo yelled while trying and failing to get up.

Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Rukia, Orhime, Renji, Rangiku, and Toshiro were on the ground battered and bloody. Orihime was trying to heal everyone but these creatures were closing in on them. Saya deftly avoided the large arm seeking to crush her. She jumped up higher than any human could and sliced the Elder clean in half causing blood to spray across the pavement and her body. She flipped and twirled around the battlefield with speed unmatched and the grace of a dancer. Saya pierced her sword in the calf of what looked to be a 20 foot horned Barin and firmly planted her feet next to the weapon. 

She quickly ran up the their body, dragging her katana while do so. The sound of flesh ripping was nauseating. Everyone stared in a twisted mixture of awe and horror. They had rarely been the witnesses of such brutality. The creature screamed and thrashed around in pain. Upon reaching the Old One's shoulder, she shoved her blade inside its eye socket, twisting the sword so the sharp edge was going upwards she cut towards the sky. The being collapsed and Saya was back on the ground. Upon closer observation the group noticed her eye color became blood red.

"What is she?" Uryu whispered. She charged at the beasts. Saya swerved to the side holding her katana horizontally to cut off the bottom half of an Old One who foolishly attempted to harm her. An Elder Barin opened their mouth and began conjuring a ball of fire. Seeing this, she flip kicked her sword directly in its open mouth causing them to fall to the ground with a wet thud.

"H—hey, look out!" Orihime shouted at the top of her lungs. A mantis-like being yanked Saya up in the air by one of its pinchers letting her hang upside down. The vile thing shot its tongue straight through her shoulder. They all yelled in alarm thinking this was the end for her. Renji tried standing up using his Zanpakuto to support himself but collapsed onto his knees. Saya sank her fangs into the tongue protruding from her body and yanked it out the creature's mouth. The Barin screeched out in pain and threw her down with so much force a crater formed. Standing up, she ripped the now soft tongue from her shoulder. She was seemingly unfazed by her wound which was bleeding profusely. 

"Please run away! You can't fight that thing without a weapon!" Rangiku warned her.

"Watch me." The mantis flew at her. Sidestepping, Saya pushed almost her entire arm through the being's chest. As she slipped her arm out from the creature's body, what was left of the hoard retreated back to Hell.

* * *

I tilted my head back with a sigh to stare at the full moon. Elder Barins are attempting to break The Shrovetide. That means more attacks against humans. Goddamn it. I looked down at my hands and rubbed the blood between my fingers. Warm....

Walking over to my katana that was on the ground, I tapped the hilt with my foot. Of course it broke. I'll leave it here, it's of no use anymore. I spared a glance at the group of injured people.

The guy with short black hair pushed his glasses up, "You have some explaining to do."

I spoke flatly, "Not really. I don't owe any of you anything. But this situation is bigger than myself so I'll clarify everything," the group seemed pleasantly surprised. "Can any of you walk?"

"I'll be able to heal everyone enough to move."

A child with white hair struggled into a sitting position, "We should discuss this at Urahara's."

Kurosaki knocked on the door and a kid with firery red hair and a scowl greeted us. "What did you do now, Carrot?" said Carrot looked down at the floor while muttering angrily as the kid led us to a room with a small traditional table. "I'll go get the others. Sit down—except you!" he pointed at me, "You'll get blood all over the place. I'll grab something."

He came back with four people. A female with dark purple hair, two males, and a little girl. I was handed a towel. Now everyone was seated.

"I think we should all introduce ourselves for starters," the woman suggested. With names out the way it was explaining time.


	3. Allies...I Guess

"What were those creatures we saw?" Hitsugaya questioned.

"They're Elder Barins."

Urahara hummed and brought a closed fan to his chin in thought. "I think I've heard of them before. They consume flesh and blood, correct?" I nodded.

Abarai rubbed dirt off his cheek, "There were reports from the Soul Society about beings thought to eat flesh. I guess that's these guys."

"What do these Elder...Barfns—"

"Barins," I interrupted Kurosaki, somehow managing to sound more monotone than usual. Kuchiki and Ishida shook their heads while everyone else snickered. I think Inoue is getting second hand embarrassment.

He huffed with a scowl on his face, "Anyways, what are they planning? I heard something about a covenant."

"They're trying to break The Shrovetide," before anyone could ask me to explain I continued on, "The Shrovetide is a time period where Elder Barins are allowed to eat a certain number of humans. Humans couldn't stop them so this covenant was made between the two."

"Why are they going against it now?" Shihoin asked while propping her chin in her right hand.

"Don't know." There was a collective sigh.

"I'll need to report this to the Soul Society," Hitsugaya said.

I gave him a confused look, "Soul Society?" Kuchiki whipped out a sketch pad and pencil. Where was she even hiding that?

"You'll just confuse her more with your ugl—" The midget promptly silenced Kurosaki with a punch to the head. Inoue began fretting over the giant red bump that was forming as the two argued. By the time the epic battle ended Urahara had given me all the info I needed with the others occasionally chipping in.

"Looks like someone had a blood bath," Urahara said teasingly, he's obviously grinning behind his fan.

Using the back of my hand, I wiped blood off that was dripping down my chin. "And your point is?" The tension was thick enough to cut.

Kuchiki addressed the elephant in the room, "Aren't you an Elder Barin? How do we know you don't have the same agenda as the others do?"

"I can't kill humans."

Matsumoto leaned forward, "Why not? Your kind feed off of them." I narrowed my eyes. Just my luck they're asking all of these personal questions. But I'll have to answer to some extent or else they'll be suspicious of me to the point they might end up seeing me as an enemy. Needless to say that would be inconvenient.

"I made a contract to protect them."

"Who did you make this contract with?" Kuchiki asked.

"Doesn't matter. All that's important is it exists." They all warily glanced between each other.

Hitsugaya sighed and gave me a determined expression, "She's right, it doesn't matter. As long as your protecting humans there's no reason to see you as a threat."

"Oh!" Inoue blurted out suddenly causing us all to look at her in surprise. "Don't you need me to heal your shoulder?"

"Already healed."

Abarai scooted over to take a look, "Wait, really?" Even though blood covered the injury it was clear that the huge wound was gone.

"I suppose you can regenerate?" Ishida chimed in while looking at the rips in his school uniform like they committed the ultimate offence against him. I nodded.

"Can all of them do that?" Abarai asked. His face gave away how concerned he was about my answer.

"It depends. Every Elder Barin has different abilities."

"Matsumoto and I will leave for the Soul Society tonight." We all nodded.

I stood up, "I'm going home."

"I'll walk you," Kurosaki said.

"That's unneces—" He was already heading for the door. I huffed. While leaving I could hear faint snickering.

We had been walking in complete silence for quite some time now. Kurosaki looked thoroughly uncomfortable. He was trying and failing miserably to appear relaxed.

"So, uh...how long have you been fighting these guys? You seem pretty experienced."

"Two years." He nodded. Before he could attempt to show off more of his amazing conversation skills I stopped in front of a building.

"Thanks for the walk."

"I'll see you at school?" He asked while scratching the nape of his neck. Giving a curt nod I entered the 15 story structure. Thankfully I left the door to my apartment unlocked. Walking into the bathroom, I stripped down. My tense muscles gradually relaxed under the showers warm water. After washing my hair and body I shut the water off. Patting myself dry, I wrapped the towel around me.

I'll just sleep in a t-shirt and underwear. After changing I put my dirty clothes inside a small white garbage bag that acted as a laundry basket. Slipping into my sleeping bag, I shifted to laying on my back. I wish I had my sword right now, can't stand sleeping without a weapon. Eventually the pull on my tired brain became too much and I fell asleep to thoughts on just how terrible this situation with the Elder Bairns would get. Pretty terrible I reckon.


	4. Lots And Lots Of Fire

What the hell am I seeing right now? I had walked into the classroom only to be met with the bizarre sight of Sado holding Inoue over his head while Red was reaching for her. The female with messy black hair was tugging the back of Red's shirt and yelling at her to quit harassing the poor girl. No one in the classroom looked the least bit fazed by what was happening. I made my way over to my seat and sat down. I guess Hitsugaya and Matsumoto are still in the Soul Society.

"Hey there! I'm Asano Keigo, your knight in shinning amour!" he introduced himself before posing like a superhero. His moment of spotlight was ruined when a leg stuck out and tripped him. The culprit was a guy with black hair who was rapidly tapping at his phone.

"Hi, I'm Kojima Mizuiro." I looked at Asano sprawled out on the floor. "Don't mind him, he'll get up soon."

"Arisawa Tatsuki. And the pervert over here is Honsho Chizuru." Arisawa had managed to pry Honsho from Chad and Inoue and was now holding her by the collar of her uniform. The bell rang as Ochi entered the room.

"Sado you can put Inoue down now. Turn to page...."

11:37, it'll be lunch soon. My stomach seemed like it was attempting to eat itself with how it was twisting and turning. It was definitely time to eat. Guimauve does provide some sustenance but it's not the same as when I feed straight from the source. Crushing weight, blood lust that you could practically taste, and a sense of death and danger. The reiatsu of an Elder Barin, what luck. Clearly the others felt it too judging from how their bodies went rigid. Before anyone else could, I raised my hand.

"Yes, Kisaragi?" Ochi stopped writing on the blackboard to give me her full attention.

"Can I go to the Restroom?" I said flatly. Ochi glanced at the clock a few feet above her.

"Wait until the end of class. There's only 20 minutes left before lunch." Kuchiki, Ishida, Sado, Inoue, Kurosaki, and I frantically looked at each other not sure what to do. It's not like we could give that Barin, which was undoubtedly powerful going by how its reiatsu felt, 20 minutes to do whatever it wanted. Suppressing the urge to sigh I offered a subtle nod to the group as a signal I would handle this.

"I'm on my period. Unless you want me to bleed all over this chair I have to leave." Cue the awkward silence. Ochi cleared her throat.

"Uh...right. Try and get back soon."

Well that's concerning. Outside the school I could see a humanoid Elder Barin with the height of a skyscraper and skin made of molten lava. A bottomless pit of bright orange substituted as its eyes and mouth. I'm pretty far away from the Barin. I think its towards the center of Karakura.

Finally coming face to face with the Old One, I took in all of the destruction. Flames surrounded me, multiple buildings were either burned to the ground or smashed to pieces, and blood was splattered on the pavement. The beast turned around to look at me.

"Finally caught up, huh?" the Elder said mockingly. Their voice sounded male. He tilted his head to the side. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming. To sum it all up, the Kings think your a threat to the war so your on their hit list."

"Kings?" My body was tense and ready to attack. The Barin stared at me like I was the stupidest thing he ever saw.

"Wow! I didn't think it was possible to know so little about your own kind!" I sent a harsh glare at the Old One. Ripping a street lamp from the ground, I took a fight stance. The Elder Barin breathed out fire like a dragon. I narrowly dodged but not without the arm of my uniform getting singed. Adrenaline coursed through my veins making my heart pound. Charging at the Elder, I impaled the lamp straight through his leg. He let out a scream and attempted to stomp me to death. I avoided the humongous foot and put distance between us.

Now how am I going to fight this Barin? I'm next to a parking lot, that could be useful. The Old One dug his fingers into the ground. The concrete under me started cracking, throwing me off balance.

The beast lifted up most of the parking lot we stood on. Dust entered my lungs and all I could feel was a powerful gust of wind then a few bones breaking. I had crashed through the window of a building. I couldn't help but gasp in pain. A stabbing sensation spread across my back. I felt blood trickle down the side of my head. Shards of glass were stuck in my arms and legs. Quickly getting up, I ran over to a reception desk and kicked it out the now broken window with so much force it made a gaping wound in the Elder's stomach. The Barin punched his hand inside in an attempt to grab me. Skillfully dodging the hand, I seized his wrist in a punishing grip and twisted.

A hoarse and ear piercing scream tore from the beast's throat. While he was distracted, I escaped the structure and rushed over to a black SUV that by some luck hadn't been crushed.

"How dare you touch me, you bit—!" I chucked the car right at his face. He screeched and his uninjured hand flew to his nose. I could feel the broken bones in my back healing. The Old One rose his arms up towards the sky and lava began bursting from the pavement like a volcano. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming, lava had splattered on the side of my stomach. Pushing past the pain, I jumped on top of a roof. What now? Come on, think Saya! Wait... Focusing on the noise, I heard a voice I recognized.

"Kisaragi!" Turning my head to the source, I saw Matsumoto, Kurosaki, Kuchiki and Inoue on another rooftop a few yards away. I scrambled back when lava shot up right in front of me. They were all making wild come here motions with their hands. Worry was etched on their faces which was understandable. I probably looked like garbage, but I've survived much worse. The Barin seemed to think I was dead since he was more concerned with burning things and maniacally laughing. Discreetly jumping roof to roof I reached the others. Inoue was on the verge of tears.

"Please let me heal you!" She rushed over to me and gingerly held my forearm.

"That's unnecessary." Before anyone could protest I continued on. "Where are the others?"

"We split up after more Elder Barins attacked." Matsumoto said while everyone readied their swords. I nodded and glanced back at the beast wracking havoc on the town.

"They breath fire and can make lava bursts." I informed them with no emotion. Jumping off the roof, I grabbed a metal pole sticking out from a damaged wall before I could hit the ground. Spinning to gain momentum and I ripped the pole out and stabbed it into a massive chunk of ruble, now I have a makeshift hammer. I rushed at the Old One and slammed the hammer into his calf. Blood sprayed on my face but I wasn't done yet. He started breathing fire but couldn't reach me.

I continued thwacking at his legs until they were to mangled to the point were he could no longer stand. Bone was visible and his legs were bent every direction except the correct way. Matsumoto and Kuchiki appeared on his shoulders. Matsumoto's blade sliced the Elder's neck while Kuchiki stabbed his eye. The now paralyzed Elder could only gurgle blood.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Bright blue light hurdled towards the Elder Barin at a frightening speed. The attack cut the top portion of his head clean off.

While Kurosaki, Matsumoto, and Kuchiki performed Konso for all the people who died I slowly walked through the ruble. It reminds me of Ukishima...I don't know why I feel so...so horrible. I didn't care for them, that fake version of myself did. Everything that version of me felt wasn't even real. It was just an experiment. But I can't shake that heavy weight on my chest that's slowly suffocating me to death. I hadn't realized I began crying until the taste of salt was on my tongue.

"Are you okay?" I flinched. Turning my head to the side I saw Kurosaki staring at me.

"It's just the rain." He nodded and we both looked ahead at the brightly shining sun.


	5. A New Sword

Furiously wiping the tears off my face, I looked over at Kurosaki. It was surprisingly comforting to have someone stand next to me while I cried. Not speaking or looking, just there, a silent 'it'll be okay'.

Pulling myself together, I spoke. "That Elder Barin said something about Kings." I started walking away.

"Kings, huh? You think there're the ones who started this mess? Kurosaki jogged to catch up to me and gestured at the catastrophic scene around us. I nodded.

"Go get everyone and follow me." He furrowed his brows.

"Wha—" I stopped my speed walking to give him a pointed look.

"Okay Okay! I'm going!" I continued forward, my pace increasing each minute until I was running.

Pounding footsteps rang out behind me. I glanced back to see Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, Abarai, Kuchiki, Kurosaki, Inoue, Sado, and Ishida. Taking a sharp left turn I finally saw his shop.

Just as I was going to knock, Watanuki opened the door and allowed us entry. We all filed into the dining room and then the onslaught of questions began.

"What happened?"

"Why the rush?

"Who is this guy?"

"I'm Watanuki Kimihiro. It's nice to meet you all." He looked at me with a glint in his eye. "I'm glad Saya is making friends. I know she can come off as cold but she's really just socially inept." Everyone's mouth dropped.

"Pfft!" Abarai was the first to laugh, then the others followed suit. Kurosaki and Abarai were practically doubled over. Chad let out a light chuckle and Ishida smirked. Hitsugaya had tears in his eyes from trying to keep quiet. I huffed while crossing my arms.

"You came here because of the Kings, correct?" Watanuki brought us back to the topic at hand .

"How did you know that's what we're here for?" Ishida asked. Ignoring him, Watanuki pulled a dust covered black book from a lower cabinet. The spine was tearing at the ends, giving away just how old this book was. I took a seat and slowly everyone did the same.

Flipping through the pages he stopped and read aloud. "The Kings are the first Elder Barins to come into existence. As their titles suggest they are considered the strongest among their race, therefore the most respected. They have final say when it comes to important decisions. For example, the creation of The Shrovetide."

Kuchiki raised her eyebrows. "So they created The Shrovetide but now they're breaking it?"

"It's possible they never planned on keeping true to the covenant in the first place," Hitsugaya said with a grim expression.

Watanuki hummed. "Indeed. After all, The Shrovetide was made only 200 years ago, not much time for beings who have existed since ancient times. But I think another reason for this could be a human violated their side of the covenant." He gave me a meaningful look. Fumito...that is a possibility.

My fist clenched. "You think he has to do with it?" I felt a lump in my throat. Hatred burning my veins like those damned tubes did. 

He nodded "I do. At least he's one of the reasons for their hostility."

"What are you guys talking about? We're having a hard time following here," Abarai questioned. I snapped my head in his direction. He put his hands up in surrender.

Watanuki began reading aloud once again. "There are 4 Kings in total, each stronger than the last. The 1st is located in a spiritually powerful city in Europe, the 2nd in an uninhabited desert in Africa, the 3rd in Antarctica, and last but certainly not least, the strongest of them all, the 4th King resides past The Gates Of Hell." All of us were gaping at him.

"Hold up." Everyone turned to look at Kurosaki. "Before we go on some trip across the world, how do we know killing these guys will stop the war?"

Watanuki cleared his throat. "If all 4 Kings were to be slayed, Elder Barins would cease to exist. However, this only applies to full-blooded Elder Barins."

"Full-blooded?" Inoue asked while tilting her head to the side.

"Full-blooded means their parents were both Elder Barins. A half-breed is an Elder Barin with one parent who is human," Watanuki explained slowly to make sure they all understood.

I tensed when a hand found its way to my shoulder. "Kisaragi?" I turned my head to see Matsumoto's eyes boring into mine with concern. "Wouldn't you die if we killed these Kings?"

"No."

Ishida pushed up his glasses. "It's safe to assume you're half human, correct?" I nodded. When no was looking Watanuki quirked an eyebrow at me, a silent question. I discreetly shook my head. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Besides, there's no point in telling them that. The only reason I'm around them is because of this war, after it's over I'll go back to being alone...like always.

"Saya, I have something for you." Watanuki stepped away for a moment into a different room. He returned with a sleek black briefcase with red clasps and set it down in front of me. "This is my best weapon. You'll need it for this fight." Everyone leaned forward to get a better look. Opening the briefcase, I saw a katana in a navy blue sheath. The hilt is midnight black with a red tassel hanging from it. I unsheathed the [sword](https://www.deviantart.com/ryo-sasaki/art/Battle-girl-263337860), the blade is blood red and seems to almost glow. Black thorns wrapped around the bottom half.

It felt like the katana was alive, and there's this sense of familiarity. I felt a small prick. One of the thorns had wrapped around my wrist.

Watanuki smiled. "She's happy to be back with you again."

Hitsugaya gave him a look that screamed 'I'm suspicious of you'. "She? What exactly is this sword made of?"

Watanuki took a slow puff from his pipe. "Zero."

My eyes widened. I turned my head so quickly I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash. "This is her?"

He nodded. "A month or so before she died, she had asked me to make her into a sword. I was supposed to give her to you on your 16th birthday but you were," he paused. "Busy to say the least." 

"Thanks," I ignored how my voice cracked. "How much?"

"Free of charge." Everyone was awkwardly looking at either a wall or the floor throughout the entire exchange.

Watanuki prepared tea for everyone else since I had declined.

"Couldn't we just open a Senkaimon to find these guys?" Kurosaki asked.

Kuchiki shook her head. "It's basically impossible to use a Senkaimon outside of Japan unless you're stationed there."

"If all of us save up then we should be able to afford this trip," Sado said.

Inoue hummed and brought a finger to her chin. "Summer break starts next month, we have until then to raise money."

Ishida crossed his arms. "I'll research in the meantime so we can narrow down the locations of each King."

Matsumoto gasped. "Captain, we're going to Europe! I've always wanted to try champagne! And think of all the fancy hotels we could stay at!" We all sweat dropped. This is going to be a long summer break.


	6. Entry Visa? Not Happening

The piercing sound of the bell ringing pulled me away from my math work.

Matsumoto moaned while massaging her ankle, "I could really go for a foot massage right now." She crossed her arms under her chest and pouted at the males in the classroom. Immediately five guys were at her side and offering to help.

Hitsugaya pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "We don't have time for this, Matsumoto. We're busy today." She gave him a confused look.

"Jobs and saving money? Ring a bell?" Abarai asked while making jazz hands.

"I was going to give moral support." We all stared at her completely deadpan. She sighed with a gloomy expression. Everyone grabbed their bags and went their separate ways to job hunt.

"Ah! Kisaragi! Didn't expect to see you here." Urahara was standing in front of his shop with boxes surrounding him.

"Can I work here for the summer?"

Urahara blinked a few times before hiding a grin behind his fan. "Of course. We could use the extra help," he looked at the ground with a small frown. "Yoruichi's forcing me to do a thorough cleaning...the place wasn't that bad..."

That's a lie and everyone who has stepped in this place knows just how dusty it is.

"How about you start today and help with these boxes?" In response I lifted two boxes up into my arms.

** One day before summer break**

I was outside scrubbing the walls when foot steps and talking caught my attention.

Kurosaki furrowed his brows, "Why are you cleaning?"

I dropped the dirty yellow sponge in a bucket of water causing a small splash. "I got a job here."

"That's obviously the reason, Ichigo," Ishida teased, letting a smug smile slip onto his face. A worrying amount of irk marks popped up on Kurosaki's head. Before he could say anything Kuchiki punched him in the stomach with a dark look on her face.

She turned to me with a bright smile, no sign of the expression from before. "We all came here to train. Only Uryu, this child—"

"I am not a child!"

"And I could make it." I nodded. What interesting people I'm going to spend the summer with. She gave him one more look promising pain before entering the shop with Ishida trailing behind her.

"Gonna join in?"

"Yeah," I said while grabbing Zero from her place against the wall.

Kurosaki stuffed his hands in his pants pockets and gave me a small competitive smirk. "Good, 'cause I'm gonna kick your ass."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'll take you down in 5 minutes."

"Bet?"

"Bet." Turning on my heels, I walked into the shop. There was only one person I ever trained with. The thought of having people to spar with again is...nice.

Another explosion went off. "Watch your aim!" Kuchiki yelled to Kurosaki after his Getsuga nearly interfered with her battle against Ishida.

"Sorry!" A loud clang rang out when our swords clashed. "What was that about taking me out in 5 minutes?" Instead of responding I swiped my katana to slice at his waist. He retaliated by cutting me from shoulder to chest, we both jumped back. Neither of us had broken a sweat yet, I have a feeling this is going to last longer than I thought.

"Hey, you two! Give it a rest!" The now familiar voice of Abarai caught our attention. Pure white bandages wrapped around Kurosaki's Zanpakuto before he rested the weapon on his back. Huh. I didn't realize how much time had passed, everyone else had arrived and were sitting around one of the many giant sand colored rocks. Looks like they had done some fighting of their own.

Kurosaki wiped sweat off the side of his neck. "What do I win?"

I flicked Zero to the side to rid her of any blood before sheathing her away. "You didn't win, so nothing."

"Neither did you," he crossed his arms and leaned against a rock next to Inoue, "I guess it's a tie." Sitting down, I pulled my knees to my chest and held Zero between them. I reeled back when suddenly Kuchiki and Matsumoto were right beside me.

"Do you like Chappy?" Kuchiki asked with all the seriousness in the world.

"What is a Chappy?" She let out a horrified gasp.

Matsumoto seized my upper arm. "What's your favorite color?"

Tensing up, I pulled my knees closer to myself. "Red."

"I'll remember that when all of us girls go shopping in Europe!" she giggled drunkenly, "Think of all the amazing alcohol. I wonder if there are any hot springs there?" I heard multiple exasperated sighs behind her.

Ishida cleared his throat and stood up. Light reflected off his glasses and he stared into the distance with a grim look on his face. "Speaking of Europe, I have found out important information regarding the 1st King's location," he paused for at least 2 minutes then continued on, "Let us take this upstairs," he spoke dramatically before turning towards the ladder leading up to the shop with a flourish.

I'm not gonna even ask.

Inoue smiled warmly at me. "You'll get used to it."

Hitsugaya nodded at Ishida. "What is it you've found out?"

"The 1st King is in Spain. More specifically, Vigrid."

Inoue shoulders dropped as if a weight had been lifted off of them. "It's great we finally have it narrowed down to a city."

"There's more, it's actually a city-state. Security is tight so the only way in and out is through the central station. Passengers are required to show a Vigrid-issued entry visa before being allowed in."

"Then we'll get an entry visa," Kurosaki spoke nonchalantly while shrugging.

Ishida looked at him like he was crazy. "Do you really think they're going to give us one. Us. We look like a group of weird teenagers. We are a group of weird teenagers. Most of us. And how are we going to explain why we're there in the first place?"

Good point. If I was a security guard and saw us I would definitely be suspicious.

Sado shifted slightly in his seat. "Then let's come up with a plan."


	7. Family Trip

The young man dressed in a security guard uniform swiped our passports through a machine. Deeming they were authentic, wonder how Urahara managed that, he handed them back to us.

"What's the reason you're all visiting Vigrid?"

Ukitake gave him a warm smile and placed his hands on me and Hitsugaya's shoulders. "I decided to take my kids somewhere special this summer. My daughter wanted to bring her friends."

He narrowed his eyes at the others, "No one from their families is coming?"

Kuchiki's older brother cleared his throat. "Their parents are close friends of ours. Unfortunately, they couldn't make it but allowed them to come with us."

He nodded before quickly typing something on a computer. "You've been approved. Hold on for one moment." He returned a few minutes later with a small envelope and handed it over to Ukitake. "That contains you're entry visas. There's one for all of you. Just show the guard standing by the train to Vigrid and you'll be let on."

"What a filthy train."

"It's not that bad Captain."

Kuchiki gave Abarai a look that would make children run away crying, "There's spilled drinks on the floor, the window sills are dusty—"

"Oh, suck it up." Rukia looked ready to punch Kurosaki but opted for tucking her chappy backpack in the overhead bin. "Is a dusty train gonna kill the big bad Byakuya? I would hope not, I wouldn't get the chance to beat you again." Hitsugaya facepalmed before taking a seat next to Matsumoto who was engrossed in a Cosmopolitan magazine.

"Don't bother with him brother, he's a fool." Kurosaki opened his mouth but shut it with an audible click and plopped down next to me when Rukia gave him a dark look as she slid beside Ukitake. Kuchiki humphed and Abarai quickly sat next to him and began going over everything that had been happening. Ishida, Inoue, and Sado sat as close as they could to each other and started up a conversation about a weird dream Inoue had. Something about pop-tarts and robots.

**2 hours later**

My body violently jerked and I snapped my head to look at whoever just poked me. Abarai's eyes were wide and he put his hands up in surrender.

My gaze flicked over to all of the passengers grabbing their bags. "Sorry."

"No worries. I get being on guard in your sleep," he gave me a small grin while handing me my duffle bag and suitcase before grabbing his own things. I stopped at the exit and waited for him to catch up. We walked up to the others who were sitting on a few benches.

"Were are we staying?" Ukitake asked. We all froze. Well, everyone except Kuchiki who was busy perfecting his already impeccable hair.

Inoue whipped out a pink flip phone with a serious look on her face. "Don't worry. I've got this handled."

Mastumoto plastered herself to Inoue and let out an excited, "I'll help!" Everyone sweatdroped.

"We've got it!" The sudden exclamation made an asleep Hitsugaya fall to the ground. Matsumoto got up and ran off with a cry of, "Hurry up! You'll love this place! It's amazing!" We all just stared unblinkingly at the spot she was sitting at.

The buildings of Vigrid were similar to pre-Renaissance era architecture. Grand plazas, elaborate vistas, and avenues for days. The hotel was modern looking and it's primary color was white. A large body of water surrounded the entrance. The building was very different compared to everything we've seen in this place so far.

"Wow..."

"This is pretty awesome."

"It's looks so beautiful!"

"Magnificent."

The receptionist, who was slumped over in her seat with a bored expression instantly perked up. She had wavy black hair with a red streak along with green eyes.

"Hey there, how can I help you?" she asked Kuchiki in a—what I guess was supposed to be seductive voice but ended up sounding like she was wheezing instead. She leaned her upper body on the front desk and pushed her breasts forward.

"Three suites. 11 guests," he responded flatly, he wasn't even looking at her but at the decor. Rukia's face was flushed with anger and she was serving the receptionist whose name tag read "Claudia" a glare so heated you would think you're staring at the sun.

Claudia scowled right back at her then gave Kuchiki a sickly sweet smile, "Are you sure there isn't anything...else you would like, hmm?" Hitsugaya had a tight grip on Matsumoto's arm, just daring her to say something while Inoue seemed ready to die of embarrassment. Abarai snorted then with wide and frantic eyes slapped a hand over his mouth.

Kuchiki sighed before finally looking at the girl, "That's all." Her smile quickly dropped and she placed the keys in his hand with definitely more force then necessary.

As soon as we were in the elevator Kurosaki, Mastomoto, and Abarai were doubled over and wheezing from laughter.

"Di—did you hear how she sounded?!"

"Don't worry, Kuchiki. Give her a bit more time and she'll be a master at the art of seduction and sweep you off your feet!"

Kurosaki still out of breath posed just like Claudia and with a ridiculously high-pitched voice said, "Are you sure there isn't anything....else you would like, oh great Kuchiki?" Abarai practically screamed and fell to the floor in a wiggling heap. I couldn't help but let out a light laugh. Inoue beamed at me. Ukitake patted Kuchiki's back.

Ishida smiled at the stupid scene in front of us before pushing his glasses up, "Pull yourselves together. Someone might wa—"

Suddenly the elevator door opened to reveal a guy around our age still in his pj's with their hair sticking up in all directions.

"Walk in..." All of us just gaped at him.

"I—I'll just, um...wait for the next one. Have a good day." Sado pushed the button to close the door.

A long moment of silence passed before Hitsugaya spoke up, "Well, wasn't that a lovely experience. How will we be dividing the rooms?"

All of us girls were in one room. Ukitake, Abarai, Hitsugaya, and Kuchiki in another while Sado, Kurosaki, and Ishida had the last one.

After putting our luggage away, we all stood in the center of our room.

"Can I sleep in the bed near the window?" Inoue asked. After everyone gave her an affirming sound she turned towards me. "Hey, Kisaragi? Do you want to share with me?"

"Sure," I said flatly. "All of you can call me by my first name." They gave me a surprised look.

Rukia furrowed her brows, "Are you sure that's alright?"

Nodding, I began taking the decorative pillows off the bed and setting them on the floor. "That's not my last name anyways."

Matsumoto tilted her head, "Then what is it?"

"Don't have one. It's just a fake name."

After turning all of the lights off we all got comfortable in our beds.

"Goodnight," Rukia whispered into the dark.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite!" Inoue giggled at Matsuomoto.

"Night," I slipped away into a for once peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to Xiyou for the idea of the characters disguising as a family!


	8. The History Behind Vigrid

"No! I'm getting in first! You take forever to get out the bathroom!"

Rubbing at my eyes to clear my vision, I got up from bed and made my way to the commotion.

I stopped next to Inoue who was watching with a concerned look on her face. Both Rukia and Matsumoto were on the ground, Matsumoto was crawling towards the bathroom while Rukia was pulling at her ankle.

"What are they doing?"

Inoue jumped at the sound of my voice. "Fighting over who gets to shower first. Rangiku..." she trailed off with a nervous laugh, "She takes hours in there." I hummed. Gently grabbing Inoue's wrist, I walked us past the two of them. They were too busy yelling at each other to notice until they heard the click of the door.

"Hey, Saya! You can't just sneak past!

"That's cheating! We're supposed to fight to the death!"

After putting on my usual attire of a navy sailor uniform and red ribbons in my hair I stepped out the bathroom with Inoue. The two of us lazed around the room while waiting for the other two.

Before heading out to the lobby, Matsumoto whined, "I'm hungry..."

Grabbing one of the complementary bags of chips I tossed it to her, "Here, Rangiku." She caught the bag and just stared at me.

"Oh. Sorry."

She grinned and squished my face to her breasts. "Don't be! You can call me by my first name. We're friends after all. I'm sure Rukia and Orihime wouldn't mind either."

"Of course not."

"I don't mind!"

Abarai stood up from his seat in the lobby, "Thank God! I thought you would never get down here! What took so long?"

Orihime, Rukia, and I pointedly looked at Rangiku.

She gave an indignant squawk. "Saya is the one that cheated! You're not supposed to sneak past, you have to fight for the bathroom! It's one of the most important rules of the girl code!" I gave the guys a confused look.

"Don't ask us. We have no idea about this 'girl code'." Kurosaki rolled his eyes at the phrase.

Rukia's eyes scanned the lobby. "Where is Captain Ukitake and brother?"

"Ukitake wasn't feeling very well so Kuchiki stayed behind to watch over him," Ishida informed her. Rukia pressed her lips into a thin line.

Kurosaki patted her on the back making her look up at him, "Don't worry, Rukia. He's in good hands." She nodded and gave him a grateful smile.

* * *

The eccentric group gained quite a few stares while walking the streets of Vigrid. When passing by a dragon statue Toshiro paused to stare. The dragon was proudly perched on a pillar.

An elderly woman with gray hair in a bun stopped next to him, "Magnificent, isn't it? I've always wondered if the story was true. Have a good day, young man."

"You too."

Toshiro jogged to catch up to the others then asked the one question that had been bugging him. "Ishida, why exactly do you think this is where the 1st King is?"

Uryu smirked while pushing his glasses up, "I'm glad someone finally asked. Centuries back a dragon was slaughtering the settlers of Vigrid, in hopes of being spared they began worshiping it. The killings slowed down but were still happening. When the Shrovetide was created the attacks stopped—"

"How do we know they stopped?" Chad asked.

"That's where things get interesting. There was the occasional murder that nobody could figure out around the same time every year. But since this war started, the unexplainable murders have ramped up. It's gotten so bad a curfew for 10 pm was set."

"No wonder you think this is the place," Renji muttered while looking back at the statue with narrowed eyes.

Ichigo scratched his neck, "So how are going to find it? I doubt it's somewhere obvious. Dragons are pretty noticeable."

"There's this site somewhere up in the mountains that is said to be where priests used to sacrifice people to the dragon when it was still worshiped. Security shoots on sight if anyone is trying to sneak onto the property. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the exact location. We could ask around and see if we get any leads."

"Alright, let's split up. We'll cover more ground that way. Meet back here when you're done," Toshiro said.

Saya and Rukia walked around asking anyone they saw questions.

Rukia came to a stop with a hum. "We should go back. This part of town doesn't seem to have many people—" she cut herself off and whipped her head to look at Saya who was glaring ahead with her body tense, "Where is everyone? It's completely desolate."

That's when they felt it. The reiatsu wasn't overpowering in the sense of it being released all at once. It was much worse. There was this creeping feeling, like thick tar slowly covering your body. Someone looming over you, toying with you, giving just a taste of their power. Rukia's breath became labored, her Gigai wasn't holding up well against the reiatsu.

"Do you have that pill with you?"

"Yes...I do," Rukia answered with difficulty, fishing out her Soul Candy she popped it in her mouth. "Go back to the plaza. If we aren't there in 20 find the others. Now go!" Rukia ordered her body.

The two drew their swords in sync. Crazed laughter. The soft pitter-patter of bare feet. Chains dragging on pavement. Those were the only sounds, gone were the chipping of birds and squirrels crunching on nuts. Everything seemingly died. Then came the suffocating stench of blood and guts.

"Show yourself!" Rukia screamed at the top of her lungs. If you paid attention you could hear the slight shake in her voice.

"My my, didn't your mother ever teach you good things come to those who wait? Well, I suppose I was taking quite a while. I do apologize," Her voice was gentle, motherly almost.

Her hair was wine purple and caked in dirt along with bits of entrails, black eyes that were a pit of nothingness. She was wearing a ripped and dirty dark blue dress. The chains dangling from her thin wrists rattled as her bony fingers tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Saya appeared behind the Barin and impaled her, Rukia rushed forward and with a small jump stabbed her in the heart. She merely threw her head back and laughed. They ripped their weapons from her frail body. Just as Saya was going to cut her in half, the Old One opened her arms wide with a large grin and wires wrapped around every inch of their bodies.

Rukia moved what little she could and pushed her sword into the strings in hopes of getting free. They only tightened their hold until they were tearing through her flesh. At that point the two of them began to frantically thrash around.

"Such beauties you two are," she stepped away to the side, allowing Rukia and Saya to face each other, "You'll do just perfectly."

Their bodies jerked as green electricity ran down the wires into them. They began to hyperventilate as their reiatsu became wild and untamed. Red surrounded Saya while Rukia was engulfed in white. Quickly their reiatsu lost all control until it shot into the sky as a pillar, clearing away any clouds. Slowly the pillar of power developed a green tinge.

Rukia and Saya let out blood-curdling screams.


	9. Zero

I snapped my eyes open at the sound of buildings crashing and the crackling of fire. Wait—where am...this can't be possible. I'm much shorter now and my hair is in a braid. I'm 14 again.

"Saya, where the hell are you?! Say something so I can find you!" I haven't heard her voice in so long. If I'm back here again that means—I have to warn her!

"I'm in here!" I yelled back while trying to crawl from up under a collapsed building. Damn it, that's not what I wanted to say! A few frantic footsteps later the weight on my tiny body disappeared. I was roughly pulled into Zero's tight embrace.

She patted my head before pushing me away by the shoulders, "You have to get out of here. Don't come back either." My heart began racing as my stomach churned. It felt like ice cold water had been dumped on me.

"There's a powerful Elder Barin after me. You have to run." The pavement a few feet behind her exploded. A colossal [monstrosity](bayonetta.fandom.com/wiki/Iustitia) emerged. Zero didn't pay them any mind and gave me all of her attention. "I know we didn't tell each other this very much so I'm doing it now. I love you."

Just as one of the vines went to snap at her, Zero shoved me away. She quickly spun on her heel and blocked the teeth with her sword.

My body was twitching and shuddering with how much I was trying to run forward. No matter how badly I tried and wanted to move I just couldn't.

"I—I love you, mom!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran. Stumbling away from the flames that surrounded us, I fled as far as my legs could carry me at the time. It felt like I was in a cage. Clawing, kicking, screaming, and crying. But no matter what my body followed the exact movements I made back then.

* * *

"Captain!" Rangiku yelled when Toshiro barely dodged the sythe aiming to kill him. The Old One was humanoid in shape but looked like a shadow. Despite appearing like one it was very much solid and bled black blood, its feet were similar to a frogs and horns were perched on their head.

"I'm alright!" Toshiro vanished before appearing at the Elder's side. He ran his Zanpakuto into their head and cut upwards.

"Unaru, Haineko!" Ash surrounded the Elder Barins in front of her. With a flick of Rangiku's wrist most of them were either cut in half or beheaded.

Chad rushed forward and punched a gaping hole in an Old One.

"Santen Kesshun!" A triangular shield protected him from being eaten.

Renji, Ichigo, and Uryu had just finished fighting off a horde of Barins when a girl came running down the street.

Ichigo furrowed his brows, "Rukia?"

She stumbled to a stop, "Ms. Kuchiki and Ms. Kisaragi are in trouble."

"Wha—" Before Renji could say anymore, they felt the familiar reiatsu of Rukia and Saya lose all control.

"Look!" Uryu pointed to the pillars of red and white. The hair on Ichigo, Renji, and Uryu raised when they heard the high-pitched screams.

"Go back to the hotel!" Ichigo ordered the Gigai as he took off along side Uryu and Renji.

When they arrived the Elder Barin responsible for this catastrophe tilted her head at them, "Your friends have come for the two of you. What shall I do?" a thoughtful look crossed her face before she smiled, "I know! How about you guys fight for me!"

Renji and Ichigo pointed their swords at her while Uryu readied his bow.

Renji gritted his teeth, "Like hell they would fight us! Hoero, Zabimaru!" his sword extended and swiped to cut across the the Old One's chest. Uryu released two arrows towards her stomach.

All of them stared in shock when Rukia and Saya dropped down in front of her. Wires were wrapped tightly around them and dug past their skin. Rukia took Renji's attack while arrows ripped straight through Saya. They stepped into a stance, seeming to not feel any pain .

Before Ichigo or Renji could ask what the meaning of this was, Uryu spoke, "That's not Rukia and Kisaragi. Those wires are pumping something into them. That's why their reiatsu feels strange."

Saya disappeared as Rukia shunpoed in front of Renji and thrusted her sword at his face. With wide eyes he blocked the attack. Ichigo looked up just in time to shunpo out of the way when Saya came crashing down, fully intending to cut him clean in half. Not missing a beat, she rushed at him.

Ichigo was having minor difficulty blocking all of her quick and vicious attacks without hurting her. Saya, realizing she wasn't getting anywhere ducked down and sliced up. An arc of blood flew into the air.

* * *

Please stop....I don't want to look anymore.

I stood frozen in horror staring into the eyes of my dead mother. She had been ripped in half, blood turning her beautiful pure white dress and hair red. I'll never see her again, hear her scold me for messing up in training or doing something stupid, be overcome with peace as she sung for me, feel the warmth of her hugs. She's gone.

My expression was completely neutral except for the tears streaming down my face. I couldn't tell if I was shivering from the cold air or emotion. The shovel in my hands glinted in the moonlight. The only thing I could hear was dirt being flung behind me.

After the hole was big enough I just stared, it felt like an eternity but maybe it was five minutes, I don't know. Blood smeared on my fingers and clothes as I moved her body and gently placed her inside.

A choked sob tore from my throat as I slid her sword into her hand. That weapon should stay with her, it's hers and hers alone.

"I'm sorry...I—I should have stayed with you, maybe if I didn't abandon you—" I pulled my hand away as if I had been burned, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." The pain of sinking my fangs into my hand to stifle my cries didn't register.

* * *

Ichigo grunted and jumped back, "Dammit would you just—!"

Renji appeared next to him with a few wounds. "Uryu and I tried attacking that Elder Barin but nothing is working."

Uryu sent a silent apology when he shot Rukia in the wrist as she attempted to stab Renji in the back. Ichigo and Renji tensed up before using shunpo to stand by him.

"I'm going to try something. The wires all lead to a spot underground, I—"

Renji cut him off, "We'll cover you. Be quick!"

Uryu ran as fast as he could to the sound of clashing swords and Kido spell incantations. A beautiful tree with red leaves stood by the place. The ground burst apart and dust flew when he shot an arrow.

His brows furrowed, "What is this?" he whispered to no one in particular. A giant hole was dug under the spot and filled with skulls that had to be years old. Sliding down, he stumbled to a stop. Uryu's eyes spotted something dark purple, he walked over. With a disgusted look on his face, he moved the skulls and picked up a doll.

It was a small plushie of the Elder Barin they were fighting. Uryu smirked and threw the doll into the air before rapidly releasing three arrows, effectively destroying it.

Just as Rukia and Saya were about to unleash another flurry attacks, they froze. The wires gave a loud snap as the two fell to the ground unconscious.

"That—wha—!" The Elder sunk to her knees and roughly tugged on her hair. Blood began trickling from her nose, eyes, and mouth.

She threw her head back with her mouth wide open in a silent scream before exploding into dark-green sludge.

"Well...that was...something," Renji muttered while scratching the side of his head with a very confused look on his face.

Ichigo winced as he touched his shoulder, "Let's get them back to the hotel."


	10. Closer

Shifting around, I hissed at the sharp pain in my side.

"Please hold still, Saya!" Oh. I'm back in our hotel room. I was laying down on a bed with Rukia by my side. Orihime was holding up a light orange dome around us. It felt...warm? The multiple voices talking in the background abruptly stopped.

Abarai fiddled with the white headband on his forehead, "You guys gave us a scare back there." Rukia and I awkwardly looked around the room. There was a long moment of silence.

"Oh!" we all startled and turned our attention to Orihime, "I almost forgot! Chad and I found out where the King is!" Everyone immediately sat a little straighter.

"We talked to a priest. He said there's some sort of coliseum in the mountains to the east of Central Vigrid," Sado informed us.

"That's great! The sooner we take this one out, the faster we can get to the others," Abarai pumped his fist into the air.

Ishida crossed his arms, "I'll see if I can find a way for us travel there." We all nodded.

Orihime looked concerned when I swung my legs off the bed to stand up. "I'm going for a walk. Do you guys want anything from the store?" They all just stared at me like I grew another head.

"You're still covered in blood," Hitsugaya said as Rangiku vaguely gestured at me. I put on my gray bomber jacket and gave a nonchalant shrug. Kurosaki snorted at my half-assed solution while Ishida shook his head.

"Shiratama."

"Taiyaki for sure."

"Sugar coated beans."

"Dried persimmons. And champagne!"

"Matsumoto! Stop trying to have a minor buy you alcohol!"

Kuchiki spoke up for the first time tonight, "Technically, it would be legal for her to buy it. We are in Spain."

"That is not helping!"

Kurosaki stuffed his feet into his shoes, "I'll come with you. I don't know what I want."

The sliding door beeped as we walked out the store. Streets lamps are beginning to flicker off and the chirping of crickets became louder. We're cutting it pretty close to curfew but we should make it in time.

I looked up to the sky, must be a new moon tonight. "Have you lost someone and think if you did things differently they would be alive?" I'm honestly grateful that the lights are cutting off, we can't see each other very well.

"Why are yo—" he paused, "My mom. I was trying to save a girl I thought was drowning. Turns out she—" his voice cracked, "She was a hollow." Why am I going to share this? Maybe I feel like I should since he told me something so personal.

"My mother was a traitor to Elder Barins. She was ripped in half because it," I heard him inhale sharply, "If—if I hadn't ran when she told me to..."

I stumbled when Kurosaki tugged on the back of my jacket, "Don't be an idiot," even though I couldn't see him, I just knew he was scowling at me, "I didn't know your mother but I know she wanted you to live. That's why she made you run in the first place. She would want you to be happy, not blaming yourself."

That's—but I—maybe he's right? I wasn't strong enough back then, I would've just died. If Zero didn't care she would have let me stay with her.

"Got it?"

"I—yeah."

"Kurosaki?" he hummed, "Take your own advice."

He chuckled, "Right. And call me Ichigo. I think bonding over tragedies got us close enough we can call each other our first names."

A small smile worked its way to my face at the dark humor, "Sorry I tried to kill you."

"Don't worry about it."


	11. Boss Battle Of Epic Proportions

We all stepped onto the train stop near our destination.

"That's the place right there," Ishida pointed at the monument. An enormous square shaped white platform with pillars surrounding it. Bright orange and red flames ran up the columns. Barbed wire fencing went all around the mountain and security guards could be seen making rounds.

The Shinigami of the group separated from their bodies. After quickly going over the plan we split up.

"Are you sure you can carry me? I don't want to be a burden." Orihime's brows were furrowed and her lips pulled into a frown.

"I can carry you there," kneeling with my back to her, she climbed on. I took off running into the forest next to the gate. Trees whipped around us and every animal began fleeing as if they knew the battle about to take place.

Orihime put a hand to her earpiece, "Uryu is about to make the distraction!" Shortly after that, I heard a loud explosion go off, rocks began tumbling down the mountain.

"What was that?!"

"Don't know! Everyone hurry to investigate!"

"Understood!"

Picking up the pace, I skidded to a stop just as everyone else arrived. We all wore expressions of grim determination. Ukitake sliced the fence down the middle. Pounding footsteps, guards losing their minds, rocks falling, and animals trampling each other. We're all about to fight for our lives. Actually, if this war gets out of hand, it won't just be us at stake.

Ichigo scratched his head, "Is this the right place? Do you think they picked up shop and moved?"

Kuchiki looked him up and down, "Don't be a fool, boy. It's here." The platform began shaking, throwing us off balance.

"Excellent sensing skills I see." Our mouths dropped and we went deathly pale at the sight.

"Captain, it—"

"Jesus..."

"No, this..how are we going to defeat that?"

The reiatsu came crashing down on us. It was unbelievably heavy and suffocating. There was so much it was raining. Purple rolled around the dragon like some sort of mist.

"I didn't expect you all so soon. Never the matter, I will dispatch of you quickly."

Hitsugaya drew his sword, "Inoue, take cover!"

Abarai appeared up in the air in front of the King's face. His sword extended and cut off the point of his nose. A roar full of nothing but anger tore from his throat. Opening their mouth wide, a purple beam of light hurled at Abarai.

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" An avalanche of cold air blasted at the attack, stopping him from killing Abarai on the spot. He gave Rukia a thumbs up and moved out the way. A tornado of ash surrounded it, flinging the King around.

"Insufferable critants!" Purple flames engulfed the entire platform. Everyone dived into cover.

"Any ideas?" Rukia whispered harshly.

Rangiku shifted away from the fire licking at her arm, "We can attack at the same time, but we'll need a distraction."

"I'll do it," I said with a nod.

"On the count of 3," Ishida held his fingers up.

"One."

"Two." As the flames became weaker, I stepped a leg from behind the pillar and peeked at the King. The heat made sweat roll down my body.

" _Three_!"

Bolting out there, I weaved my way through the fire. Pushing past the pain of it grazing my arm, I slid under his foot. I quickly got up and raised my sword to slice the underbelly. Once I reached the tail I flipped myself on top of it.

The King was too preoccupied with trying to fling me off of him he didn't notice the gradual raise in reiatsu from everyone charging their attacks.

"Now!" At the signal, I jumped off and ran a safe distance away.

Blue light, ash, ice, arrows, you name it, slammed full force into the dragon. He tumbled to the ground making everything for miles shake.

"They can't be dead. That was too fast," Ukitake muttered.

"No need to worry. I'm certainly not deceased."

Ichigo looked done with life, "Are you kidding me right now? He got _even_ bigger." The King was now standing upright on their back legs.

Spreading his wings wide, his body began glowing bright purple and the sky darkened, "Heed my call, Old Ones!"

The train stop in the distance was smashed to pieces when an enormous gray crab-like Elder came crashing down. Trees collapsed with a loud crack, buildings farther off could be seen falling apart, and the streets were overrun with Barins.

We all sprang into action. Blocking an oversized axe with my sword, I was forced to my knee. Pushing it up and away, I sliced their head clean off. I turned around and was surprised to see an orange shield stopping flames from reaching me.

Giving Orihime a grateful nod, I rushed ahead and swung Zero around like a madwoman, cutting anything and everything. I yelped when the crab from earlier grabbed me with one of its pinchers and threw me into the air. Wincing at the gaping wound in the side of my stomach, I spun into a drill before smashing down, cutting them in half.

Looks like Rukia needs help. Dashing to her, I kicked off a pillar to gain momentum. Before landing I wrapped my legs around an Elder that was behind her and slit their throat.

"Thanks for the assist!" Nodding, I jumped when Ishida appeared next to us.

"Ichigo found the King's weak spot. It's inside his mouth," his eyes scanned the battlefield, "Matsumoto, Ukitake, Chad, and I will keep the rest of the Elder Barins at bay. Now hurry!"

"How did you find out their weakness? You didn't get in his mouth did you?" Abarai asked Ichigo, sounding thoroughly confused.

"Of course not, Pineapple," he smirked when several irk marks popped up on Abarai's head, "I sent out a Getsuga when he opened up to eat me."

"So our only option is to do long distance attacks at his mouth whenever it opens?! That'll take forever!"

Rukia elbowed Abarai who turned a lovely shade of green, "If it's the only way then yes!"

"One of us could climb in when he's stunned." Everyone looked at me horrified.

"That's won't wor—"

I cut Kuchiki off, "I've done it 3 other times."

Hitsuagya sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Well, it sounds like that way will work faster. Volunteers?"

"I'll go," Rukia said.

"Okay, everyone try and hold his mouth open."

Hitsugaya, Abarai, and I appeared on top of the King's head. Grabbing onto his horns with no mercy, we pulled his head back. Of course he opened his mouth and light began building up in his throat. Before it could be released, Kuchiki jabbed his sword straight through the bottom of his mouth while Ichigo went for the top.

"Now!" We shouted in unison. Rukia rushed down his gullet, wind bellowing behind her. The dragon's eyes that were previously filled with arrogance and gazed at us like we were nothing but pests were now fearful. His body convulsed as the hacking and slashing became louder.

"There's something coming up!" Hitsugaya shouted. Purple smoke was coming from his mouth and floating up to the sky.

Abarai shifted to keep his grip firm, "Rukia, hurry and get out of there! We can't hold him for much longer!"

"Hold on! I've found something!" What sounded like an explosion went off inside of the King. A scream tore from him, blood quickly gathered up on his tongue and began flowing down to the ground.

"Please! It's gonna close soon!" Everyone's arms were shaking with the amount of effort having to be put in. Rukia was flying back up with fire following close behind. Once she reached the top, everyone let go and immediately put distance between themselves and the dragon.

He flung his head in every direction causing blood to splatter. The cracking of bones could be heard, the purple mist was taking on a sickly pale shade, and his reiatsu dropped significantly.

With one final roar, the 1st King collapsed, dead.

Then something caught my attention, "Look at them," I pointed my sword at the horde of Elder Barins who were looking upon the dead King with horror. The Gates of Hell opened behind them. Running over each other in their haste, they retreated.


	12. Time For Some Thievery

Abarai's shoulders slumped once we left the airport, "It's so hot. I think I'm gonna die," he wheezed.

Rukia rolled her eyes but I could see a smile tugging at her lips, "Oh, stop being dramatic."

"I'll help look for a hotel!" Rangiku said excitedly while suffocating Orihime to her breasts. 

"I've already booked our rooms," Hitsugaya said with a smug smile.

"Captain, why would you pick such an ugly place? I thought you had better taste than this."

His brow twitched, "It's not 'ugly', Matsumoto. The place you picked was way too expensive." Rangiku whined and pouted at him all the way to the reception desk.

I pushed the button leading to our floor, the doors closed with a beep.

"So, I have good and bad news," Ishida who was leaning against the back wall said. "Bad news first. This King is in the Sahara which means we have a big area to search. And that means wondering around in the desert." We all couldn't help but groan.

"What's the good news?" Ukitake asked.

"I'm going to print out a few maps so we don't get lost or revisit areas we've already checked." Sado patted Ichigo on the shoulder when he let out a loud sigh.

Rukia frowned, "Small favors I suppose." We walked out of the elevator and made our way over to the rooms given to us.

Tightly wrapping a towel around my wet hair, I stepped out the bathroom. Rukia was laying on of the beds cuddled up to a pink bunny plushie while watching some reality show. Orihime and Rangiku were sitting on the floor painting each others nails. We looked up when there was a knock.

I opened the door to see Ichigo holding a folded chunk of paper under his arm. "Uryu wants me to go print out a few copies of this," he scratched his nape, "You wanna tag along?" Nodding, I unwrapped my hair and slipped into my shoes.

I turned to the three girls, "I'll be back soon."

As we walked out of the shop, Ichigo opened up one of the maps, "How the hell are we going to search all of this?"

"We could steal a car."

Ichigo's head whipped around to gape at me, "Saya! We are not stealing a car!" An old woman that was walking by gave us a horrified look while smashing her purse to her chest and scurried into a store. He lowered his voice, "Are you crazy?"

"Orihime and Sado can't run as fast as everyone else and we can get to the Sahara faster too." He stared at me like I sprouted wings and took flight. Ichigo opened his mouth but before he could say no I crossed my arms.

"Fine. But we're putting it back were we found it after this is over!" he whispered harshly. He huffed, "I think a van will fit all of us." Scanning the shopping center, I pointed to a spacious silver van with gray tinted windows. "What has my life come to?" he muttered. We hurried over and hid behind the car. "How are going to break in?"

I blinked owlishly at him, "I didn't think that far."

"Wha—" he turned to scowl at the vehicle.

Ichigo let out a high-pitched scream when I punched the window. Shoving my hand in, I unlocked the car and slid the door open.

A guy around our age pointed at us, "Hey, you two! Stop immediately!"

Ichigo looked between me and the guy losing his mind before facepalming. He plopped down on the driver's seat, "For the love of all that is holy, hurry up and get in the car before we're arrested!"

* * *

Renji and Rukia had just made it back to the hotel from the store .

Rukia furrowed her brows, "Did you hear that?" she asked while turning to the road.

"Hu—" a loud screech cut him off. Looking down the street, their eyes went comically wide. A car flew around the corner and a male that sounded oddly familiar was screaming his head off. Renji's mouth dropped, an Elder Barin was holding onto the roof of the car. Saya was brutally stomping on their hands. Renji winced, he could almost hear the bones breaking.

"Saya! Hurry up!" that's when the two spectators realized Ichigo was the one driving.

The Elder flopped onto the front window in an attempt to dodge one of her kicks. Ichigo yelped while swerving side to side. The Old One waved left and right. Saya grabbed their hands and raised them above her head before throwing them. Ichigo abruptly stopped the car, causing her to go flying off.

She jumped up, "Watch it!"

"It's not my fault! You should have gotten him off faster! Maybe you wouldn't have went flying!"

She glared. Before Rukia could warn her about the Barin sneaking up behind her, Saya spun around and decked them in the face. They went crashing through a wall. Their reiatsu quickly disappeared.

"Damn.." Renji muttered.

Rukia sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose, "Life makes no sense anymore."


	13. First Trip Out

"I send the both of you out to print a few maps and you steal a car instead?" Ishida sounded like he needed a few moments to process what he just heard.

"We have the maps just..." Ichigo trailed off with a sheepish look on his face, "We brought something extra along?"

Abarai snorted while sporting a huge grin. He was all to happy to announce to everyone else what happened. "You brought something extra alright." Kuchiki hadn't stopped covering his eyes with his hand.

Hitsugaya sighed, "Let's just hope the police don't find you. I'm not bailing you two out."

"I'm sure they won't be found," Ukitake said with a shaky smile while sweatdropping.

"Let's get going. The sooner we start searching the sooner this will be over. Who's driving?" Ishida asked.

Rukia crossed her arms and nodded with a proud smile on her face, "I'll do it."

Ichigo bent down to her level, "Are you sure that's a good idea? You're too short to reach the pedals." He smirked at the angry red her face became.

"How dare you! Don't patronize me, you fool!"

"Who are you calling a fool, midget?!"

Rukia pushed onto her tiptoes and crushed her forehead to his, "You, bushfire!" I slapped a hand to my mouth. Oh my god, now I can't unsee it.

Ichigo's jaw dropped before he gritted his teeth, "Bushfire?!" he dramatically pointed to Abarai who jumped away to avoid having his eye stabbed out. "At least I'm not an stupid looking pineapple!"

Abarai stomped over and grabbed his shirt, "I look nothing like a pineapple!" Orihime looked back and forth between the three of them now screaming their heads off about some Grimmjow person that was a 'blueberry wannabe panther'.

Ishida smirked while pushing his glasses up, "I do have to agree, Ichigo. You are very similar to a bushfire."

Multiple irk marks popped up on Ichigo's head, "Do you remember that stupid haircut you had when we first met?! Your head looked like a block!" Ishida gasped, I've never seen him look so utterly offended before. Soon the four of them were roasting each other like there was no tomorrow. I was shaking with how much effort it was taking to not bust out laughing.

"Dear god help me..." Hitsugaya whispered as he stared forlornly up at the sky.

"I'm too old for this," Kuchiki muttered before plopping down on the driver's seat.

Hitsugaya sat next to him then poked his head out, "Hurry up or you're walking!"

* * *

Everyone was panting and sweating bullets. The AC was on the coldest setting but nothing seemed to really help with the scorching heat.

Rangiku fanned herself with a perfectly manicured hand. "Captain," she whined, "Are we there yet?"

Toshiro huffed while slamming a map down to his lap. "No, Matsumoto. We are not there yet. You asked me that just 5 minutes ago." He went back to reading directions off to Byakuya.

Renji slumped into his seat until he was halfway out of it. "Rukia if I die from this heat, I want you to know," he clutched her hand to his chest, "You were always such a cold friend. You've frozen my heart and shattered it."

Ichigo let out a muffed laugh before straightening his back. "He's lost it, Rukia," he gazed at her with sadness and pity. "We have to put him out of his misery before it's too late." He turned to look at Saya, "Right?"

She stared at him blankly before slowly nodding. "Yes, indeed. Lest the delusion spread to the rest of us."

"End me, Rukia! I can't take the three of you down with me! I will miss all of you!" Renji's eyes were glossy with unshed tears. Rukia nodded. She viciously punched him the stomach.

He groaned and leaned against a window. Byakuya's gaze kept flickering from the endless expanse of sand to give the three of them a judgey look. Uryu, Chad, Orihime, and Rangiku clapped at the Oscar worthy performance.

Byakuya slowed the van to a stop, "We're here." After everyone was given a map and pen the group split into pairs with Orihime, Chad, Uryu, and Ukitake taking the car.

* * *

Ichigo and I stomped our way over a steep hill of sand.

He wiped sweat of his forehead and scowled, "We've been walking for hours now and nothing has happened. Maybe we should go a different direction." Just then the sand under us began rumbling. Not wasting any time, we slid down the hill.

I winced and he made a disgusted sound. The dust had cleared to reveal a group of humanoid Elders with sickly green skin. Sharp needles protruded out of their bald heads and small knives seemed to be almost melted into their hands. Were a mouth was black tar oozed out. Their eyes had no pupils, leaving only the whites behind.

"I swear every Elder Barin I see is weirder than the last," Ichigo griped while readying his Zanpakuto. A Barin flung them self at me with a surprising amount of strength.

Skidding to a stop a few feet away, I grabbed the knife aiming to stab me in the neck. Kicking them off, I dug my nails into it's arm and launched them at an Elder trying to attack Ichigo. I rushed forward and unsheathed Zero. Slicing an Old One clean in half, I spun on my heel to lock blades with other one.

It screeched and pushed back with all the force they could muster. I ducked down and impaled them straight through the jaw to the top of their head. Standing up, I yanked Zero out of them.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Two Barins were sent flying past me with smoke coming off of them. I looked at Ichigo. Bandages wrapped around his sword before he place it on his back.

"Thanks," I said with a nod. Ichigo stuck his hand out with an expectant look on his face. I just stared at him. He huffed and grabbed my bloodied hand. I hissed as he prodded at the wound.

"Hold still," he ripped a piece off the sleeve of his Shihakusho.

"That's unnecessary."

"No, it's not," he carefully began wrapping the makeshift bandage around my hand. "Even though you heal doesn't mean you should just let yourself bleed all over the place. Plus dirt can get inside."

"Uh, right." I looked up at him and my breath caught in my throat. Wow. The sun was reflecting off of his hair, making some sections light orange or a shimmery gold. Dear god, what am I doing? Stop acting weird, Saya. No one pays attention to how the sun is shining down on a person.


	14. This Was Unexpected

* * *

The entire group were gathered together in their hotel room. It was obvious everyone present were irritated. Renji and Chad stood by the door while Jushiro, Byakuya, and Toshiro sat on a battered couch that had definitely seen better days. Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Saya, Chad and Uryu were on the floor. Rangiku plopped down on the armrest next to her Captain with a sigh.

Renji huffed and shifted his feet, "We've been searching for this 2nd King for almost two weeks now and haven't made _any progress_."

"The only thing we've found is sand sand and more sand," Ichigo complained while glaring at the ground.

Uryu sighed, "The only option is to continue looking."

"Uryu's right," Orihime clapped her hands together, determination clear on her face, "Don't worry, we'll find them. Is there anywhere we haven't checked?" Chad grabbed all of the maps and spread them throughout the room for everyone to see.

Rukia put her index finger to her chin, "Some of them need updating. Certain places haven't been marked off."

Toshiro opened up a pen with his teeth and quickly scribbled down multiple x's, "Most of the north we haven't searched," he furrowed his brows, "And a small portion of the east is still left."

"Saya and I can deal with the east," Ichigo said.

Toshiro nodded, "That's fine. We'll need as many people as can get up north."

Jushiro's eyes darted to a small window, "It's still early out. I think we have enough time to start." Byakuya wordlessly picked up the keys to the van and walked out the door. He was basically the group's chauffeur.

* * *

"The desert sucks," Ichigo angrily muttered while shaking out his sandals before toeing them back on.

"Agreed." I felt like I was being cooked in an oven. I can't wait until we can leave the Sahara behind for good.

He gave me a long suffering look, "We have a bit further to go before we get to the spot we're looking for." Suddenly a mischievous glint was in his eyes. Ichigo smirked, "Bet I can get there before you."

"What are yo—"

Shoving me over, he quickly slid down the hill of sand we stood on, "Think you can keep up?!" he called over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the smile tugging at my lips. That does sound kind of fun. I'm...glad I usually pair up with him. He always finds a way to make things a bit less miserable out here. I sprinted after him.

"Told you I would get here first."

"You didn't win."

"Did too."

"Did not and that's final," I pointed ahead to a large murky pond surrounded by palm trees and bushes.

Ichigo scowled, "Did we really walk this far for a pond and trees?"

I crossed my arms and sighed, "Let's go look for the others," my voice sounded horribly monotone even to me.

"Might as wel—what the?!" We stumbled as the ground began shaking. Sand suddenly whirled around, lashing at my skin. We were nearly swept off our feet at the force of it. The only thing that could be seen was a shadow of the oasis. Something like a muffled growl resounded through the desert before water burst into the air.

I almost fell to my knees at the unexpected reiatsu and Ichigo let out a choked off gasp. It was unbelievably suffocating and completely flooded all of my senses. An awful acidic smell filled the air. Sickly green fog slowly rolled in.

All at once the tornado of sand split apart and flew in different directions, revealing the 2nd King.

Ichigo opened and closed his mouth a few times before being able to speak, "Holy shit, it's a Hydra." Said being hissed before quickly darting its head at us with their mouth wide open.


	15. This Was Unexpected II

Uryu shifted in his seat and slowly blinked his eyes open. He pushed his glasses up his nose and looked around the car. Chad was driving while Jushiro and Orihime were reading from a stack of magazines that Rangiku brought along.

He paled when he turned to look out the window next to him, "Stop the car!" It screeched to a halt. He quickly scrambled out with the others following close behind.

Orihime furrowed her brows and frowned, "What's wrong?"

He pointed up ahead between two mountains of sand at the darkening sky, "A giant sand storm is coming. And I'm positive I can see Elder Barins flying right in front of it."

"Could we drive away and avoid it?" Chad asked while shielding his eyes when a powerful gust of wind passed by.

Jushiro shook his head, his expression grim. "Look around. It's coming from all sides, we might be able too but it'll certainly be difficult."

"We have to try. I don't think the three of us could fight such a big horde of Barins during a storm." Orhime said as she rubbed her sweaty palms on her shorts. They all hurried into the car and it roared to life. Everyone shouted as an Elder slammed into the vehicle, almost knocking it on its side.

"Roll the windows down!" Uryu yelled. Orhime used her hairpins to blast every attacker she saw, Jushiro muttered Kido Incantations under his breath, and Uryu fired off arrow after arrow. Chad stomped on the accelerator, sand flew behind the wheels.

Ichigo grabbed Saya's arm and shunpoed them out of the way.

"Okay," he started, "I read the mythology about this guy once. We can go off of that." She nodded. "The largest head is immortal, for every other head cut off two regenerate unless the wound is cauterized, and poisonous breath," he listed off quickly.

"Poison doesn't effect me. I'll go for the heads. What about cauterizing?" Before he could answer they dodged in different directions to avoid a head smashing down to the ground. Saya quickly got on top of it and traveled up their neck. Ducking under the Old One's body, Ichigo ran forward and flipped onto their tail.

He was centimetres away from severing off the appendage when the end of the Elder's tail curled up to a point and pierced his shoulder. Hissing in pain as it ripped away from his wound, he jumped to evade it smacking him. Ichigo raised Zangetsu above his head and sliced the tail clean off. The Hydra let out an ear piercing screech.

A head snapped it's jaw twice then dived straight at Saya. At the last second she slid under the head causing them to pause. Standing up, she pivoted on her heel then slammed her foot into the back of their neck, sending them flying face first to the ground. She tensed up and and bit back a scream when two sets of jaws sunk their teeth into the flesh of her forearms.

She twirled Zero between her fingers and jabbed her inside of one of their eyes, making them reel back with a roar. Turning to the other, she cut the top of its mouth clean off. Ichigo slashed at their four ankles before flying into the air.

The Hydra heads opened their mouths wide and breathed out a cloud of green smoke. Saya jumped up to avoid the poison that began to get in the way of her seeing.

"Here!" she was shocked when a warm hand tightly clasped hers. She was swung to the side and up on their back.

"Ichigo?" He stood in mid-air with one hand keeping her from falling and the other holding his Zanpakuto. They were watching the raging King below them.

"I got an idea about the cauterizing. Just using a Getsuga should work." She looked suspiciously at him. "Just trust me on this one." He yelped when Saya violently flung herself at the Elder Barin. She impaled Zero through the neck of a head trying to attack her side and right into the eye of other.

Gritting her teeth, she used all the strength she had to smash them down onto the back of the Old One and keep them pinned there with her weapon. Standing up, she looked at Ichigo and pointed to her handiwork.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Just as the crescent shaped attack was going to land, Saya grabbed her sword and moved onto another head then sliced their fins off.

Eventually, they had severed off every single head except the largest one. The pair landed down on a pile of sand and stared at the bloodied King. His bright yellow eyes settled on the two. They were full of resignation, he seemed almost bored.

The Old One sighed through their nose, "I see that I have been defeated, " his voice boomed, "I must say that I'm impressed."

Ichigo took a step forward, "You're not going to fight us anymore?" he sounded skeptical.

"Listen to me child, I want my last few moments to be peaceful. I see no reason to prolong this any further. After all, in order for your hard work to be of any meaning you must go through all of us Kings," he made a noise like a mocking laugh, "The skill is there but I doubt it will get you past the last of my brothers."

His eyes slipped closed as his reiatsu completely disappeared. Body slumping forward, he fell to the ground with a loud thud that shook the ground for miles. The sand storm ceased and the sun seemed to shine brighter than ever as it reflected beautifully off of the pond next to them. Everything returned to a state of calm.

"Thanks," Saya mumbled.

"Huh?"

She crossed her arms, "There would have been more trial and error if you didn't help me," she said awkwardly while making a vague gesture over to the body in front of them.

Ichigo rubbed his neck, "I'm not gonna just leave you to fend for yourself."

"Right." They fell into a heavy silence and refused to spare each other a glance. Ichigo looked around them as if the never ending sand was somehow interesting while Saya resolutely glared at the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Would you guys prefer if fights with the Kings were in third pov? I think I write action better in third than first and I want to make those fights as cool as I can.


	16. More Trouble

"Orihime! Saya! Wake up!" I jolted upright at Rukia's alarmed shout. Looking to the center of our room, I saw Rangiku standing in front of the TV. Her hand was covering her mouth as her wide eyes stared ahead. It immediately put me on edge. I startled as Rukia flung open the door and slammed it shut.

Turning to the sleeping Orihime beside me, I shook her arm. "Come on, you've got to get up."

"What's wrong?" she asked groggily. I tilted my head at Rangiku. Letting out a soft 'oh', Orihime hurried over and had her sit down on a bed. Walking over, I stood on her other side and stiffly patted her shoulder.

The next few minutes went by in tense silence expect for the commercials flashing by on screen. What had even happened? Whenever one of us asked, Rangiku would only say 'just wait for Rukia'. My thoughts were interrupted by said woman storming into the room followed by everyone else looking fairly confused.

Uryu pushed up his glasses, "What's happening, Rukia? You just busted into our rooms saying Karakura is in terrible danger."

She rubbed at her forehead, "I don't," she huffed, "I don't know how to even explain jus— just look at this," she pointed to the TV that was now showcasing a news channel.

A young woman dressed in a suit smiled pleasantly, "Now that our commercial break is over we have some breaking news," a detailed map of Japan popped up on the screen next to her, "Karakura Town is experiencing a catastrophe as of now. Buildings are being frozen solid or completely uprooted, just yesterday three streets were entirely covered in ice, and multiple people are going missing or have been murdered by what seems to be a series of vicious animal attacks." As she was speaking a slideshow was presented.

"What is even more bizarre," she paused to pull up the weather forecast, "Is that despite the town being covered in ice there have been no drops in temperature, this summer it's ranging anywhere from 80 to 100 degrees. A curfew has been issued for all residents and tourists to be at home by 5 p.m. so as to stay safe from these animal attacks."

Rukia turned the TV off, "That's what I was talking about."

"Shouldn't Urahara be able to take care of any Elder Barins that could have caused this?" Abarai pointed out.

Hitsugaya sighed heavily, "Theoretically, yes. That's another thing that's concerning."

Orihime swallowed thickly, she looked to be on the verge of tears. Seeing your hometown practically in ruins has to be a horrible feeling. "Wh—what should we do?" We can't leave Karakura like this!"

"I don't know about you guys," Ichigo shot Kuchiki, Hitsugaya, and Ukitake a look, "But I'm going back." Orihime smiled proudly. Rukia seemed hesitant for a moment before her eyes hardened and she nodded her head at him. Sado patted his shoulder and Ishida walked to stand behind Ichigo with Abarai trailing behind him.

Hitsugaya sighed, "We'll split up. Us Captains will travel to Antarctica while the rest of you fix the problem in Karakura."

"But—" Rangiku started.

"Karakura will need as many people as possible, Matsumoto. Not even Urahara has been able to figure this out. A group of Captains can handle this King. When we're done we'll meet up with you all."

"I'll book us the soonest flight back home," Ishida said.

Abarai turned to stare out the window, determination clear on his face. "We better start packing."

* * *


	17. A Promise Is Made

* * *

"Okay, this is pretty bad," Renji said as the group walked to Urahara'a shop. Buildings encased in ice glistened under the glaring rays of the sun but showed no sign of melting anytime soon.

Rukia slapped the back of his head, "You fool! Did you not pay any attention to the news?!"

"Of course I did! Ow! Stop hitting me!" Uryu sighed and shook his head. They all came to a halt when there was a sudden burst of reiatsu.

"Where did that come from?" Orihime asked. Suddenly the ground began shaking so violently the pavement cracked under them. Giant walls of ice shot into the sky. The group threw themselves out the way quick enough and were left unharmed. Although they ended up being separated. Eight people, eight walls. Saya looked back at the ice surrounding her before running forward, hoping to find some alternative route to Urahara's.

Rukia sighed in relief when she saw Ichigo turn the corner a few feet ahead. "Ichigo!"

His face drained off all color as soon as he looked at her, "Look out!" Rukia's mouth dropped open in a silent scream as a claw tore straight through her stomach. The sound of flesh being violently ripped apart was sickening. They flicked her off to the side as if she were a merely a fly. Ichigo snapped out of his frozen state as the Barin slowly moved towards her.

"You bastard!" he shunpoed to their side and slashed at the their chest. They stumbled back but not before taking a swipe at his shoulder. He made quick work of them with a stab through the head. Ichigo dropped to his knees beside a barely breathing Rukia, "Dammit...hold on."

Everyone else had made it to Urahara's and was now sitting around a table, waiting for the last two. 

Orihime furrowed her brows and looked at the door, "I hope Kurosaki and Rukia are okay."

"They have been gone for awhi—" Uryu was cut off by Ichigo busting through the door with a bleeding and unconscious Rukia in his arms. Everyone jumped up and stared in shock and worry as Ichigo handed her over to Tessai, who quickly went into a separate room and slid the door shut.

A few minutes passed in silence before Orihime spoke up, "I'll go see if I can help," she whispered before walking away.

"W—what happened?" Uryu asked.

Ichigo looked down, his fist tightly clenched, "One of those Barins snuck up on her."

The sound of Urahara's fan snapping closed broke everyone out of their daze, "In the meantime we have to discuss what's happening to Karakura." With that everyone slowly sat down again. "I have a theory." His expression was uncharacteristically serious. "I'm thinking whoever is the reason behind ice growing everywhere needs it around to become stronger."

Renji leaned forward, "Why do you think that?"

"There haven't been nearly as many deaths as there could be if their main agenda was to kill. It seems all they're trying to do so far is cover Karakura in ice. What's truly concerning is what will happen after that. For all we know once the first step is complete, they could have enough power to destroy this place in one go." Everyone had a horrified look on their face

"Do you have any leads? An idea of who or where this Elder Barin is?" Rangiku rushed out.

Urahara sighed, "I'm afraid not. Yoruichi and I went searching last night but found nothing," he looked out the window, "It's almost night out. We'll be leaving again soon."

Just as Ichigo opened his mouth Yoruichi cut him off, "You're not going with us. All of you need to rest up." Everyone spent the next few minutes strategizing before Urahara and Yoruichi left.

Orihime walked back in the room with relief written all over her face. "Rukia will be okay. Tessai is getting her more comfortable."

"Can we see her?" Chad asked.

Orihime shook her head, "Not yet." Eventually, everyone split off into small groups. Renji, Uryu, and Ichigo sleeping in the living area. Orihime and Chad sharing a room, and Rangiku with Saya.

* * *

I gasped and quickly sat upright. My heart pounded against my ribs. Biting down on my lip, I glanced at Rangiku. Her face scrunched up then relaxed. Shoving the blankets off of me, I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around myself. A shiver ran through me. The sweat covering my skin had gone ice cold. I huffed and rubbed at my forehead, I already feel a headache coming on.

Standing up, I quietly made my way out of the room and down the hall. Huh...I should check that out. The door to Rukia's room is open and the lights are on. Keeping my footsteps light as I came closer, I peeked my head inside. Ichigo was sitting on the ground and leaning against the door. He glanced at me before going back to staring unblinkingly at Rukia.

My eyes narrowed slightly. Ichigo looks pretty upset. His jaw is clenched and he's tense to the point he's shaking slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered way too quickly.

I slid down until I could sit comfortably, "If it was nothing important you wouldn't look so terrible."

He scowled at me, "I don't look terrible." Sighing, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. Think, Saya. I know they're good friends but no one else looked angry, more like worried. He definitely doesn't blame Rukia. So...oh.

"You didn't plan for her to get hurt, did you?"

"What?!" Ichigo lowered his voice, "Of course not. Why would yo—"

"Then it's not your fault," I said with finality.

"If I was faster she wou—"

I whipped my head to look at him and said bluntly, "If you want to be faster then just train, no matter what you do people get hurt or die. Even if you were faster it might not change anything."

"It would. I know it would."

"Unless you can tell the future you don't know. And if you could, I doubt any of us would have gotten separated from each other."

Ichigo looked down at his hands. He groaned and threw his head back, causing him to hit the door. "Fine. I guess you," he paused and frowned, "I guess you're right." I wasn't expecting for him to actually admit it. Well, I'm glad he isn't so upset anymore. For some reason him feeling better makes me happy...

Feeling oddly playful, I elbowed him. "Someone has to tell you when you're being stupid." That got a reaction I didn't think it would. I startled and gave him a questioning look when he grabbed my hand. Ichigo continued to stare at the wall as if it was the most interesting thing ever, although his face was progressively getting redder.

"I'll tell you when you're being stupid too," he tightly squeezed my hand, "Promise."

"I—okay." Bringing my gaze down to the floor, I tapped a random rhythm against my ankle. I really don't like how fast my heartbeat is, my skin is all tingly and weird too. Whatever. It's probably not important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated this story in so long. I've been busy with school and didn't have the time to really write anything. But I'm on break for this month so you guys can expect more updates.


	18. Family

Ichigo and I were tasked with cleaning for today. Urahara insisted everyone pitch in because of his 'hospitality' but we all know he's just looking for a way to get out of doing it himself. He and Jinta especially loved bullying Abarai into doing chores, it was kinda sad to watch.

"How does Geta-boshi even keep this place running? No one's buying anything," Ichigo pointed out while wiping down a small table.

"Probably something shady."

He chuckled, "Who knows? Maybe he has a shop on the black market."

"I wonder what he sells. Or what his advertising looks like."

"He's definitely a weapons dealer or information broker," he grinned, "I bet his ads are weird as hell and you know he'd constantly promote the shop."

Lightly shaking my head, I smiled slightly. "Let's hurry up and finish this."

As we were putting the cleaning supplies back in their places in the kitchen, Abarai walked in holding a piece of paper that went all the down to the floor.

He groaned, "I need to go to the store but it's gonna take forever to buy all this stuff. Could you guys tag along?"

"I'll come," Ichigo said with a nod before turning to me, "You?"

"I'll go." We all then proceeded to stare in silence at the list of items.

Abarai frowned, his brows drawn together. "It started out as things for dinner but Jinta wanted junk food too. Then Urahara needed the new book in this romance series he's reading, _then_ Yoruichi just so happened to run out of all of her skincare products." He sighed, "I'm starting to think they just like running me around."

It was obvious Ichigo was trying and failing to not laugh, "I'm sure they wouldn't dream of doing that to you."

* * *

The door beeped as it slid open. They wobbled out of the store, each of them carrying a ridiculous amount of bags.

Renji turned to Ichigo, who was stumbling behind them, "Hurry up Bushfire! We don't have all day!" Saya snorted.

Multiple irk marks popped up on Ichigo's head, "Who you calling Bushfire, Pineapple?! And I can move faster than you!" He stomped over and poked at Renji's chest.

"You! No one else here looks like a burning bush! If you're so much faster then we can race!"

"It's on!" They dashed off, a cloud of dust kicking up from behind them. Saya blinked a few times before shaking her head.

"They're so stupid," she mumbled to herself.

Halfway to Urahara's shop it began to rain. The group of three took cover. Ichigo stood under the overhang of the roof to a small store while Saya and Renji were huddled around a telephone booth. Renji squeezed the water out of his outdated jeans with a grimace. He glanced over at Saya, his eyes widened and he did a double take.

Ichigo was too busy cursing the weather under his breath to notice Saya _very_ blatantly checking him out. She slowly looked him up and down, sometimes pausing to stare at the drops of water on his neck or crossed arms. A smirk that only spelled trouble slipped onto Renji's face. Saya snapped out of it when he gently elbowed her.

Renji did some complicated eyebrow wiggling, "Ichigo, huh?"

"What about him?" she looked the most confused he had ever seen her.

"You know, you're just..." he kept looking back and forth between them.

"What is it?"

"I mean," he paused, "Never mind," he said while waving his hand. "I had a bit of a silly question, I'll just ask Rukia." Saya looked unconvinced but nodded anyways.

"Hurry up you two! The rain stopped!" Ichigo called after them.

Renji zoomed past him, "Don't think you can get out of our race!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!"

Unfortunately, once the group reached the shop things took a more serious turn. Once again everyone was seated around the table.

Yoruichi crossed her arms and allowed her eyes to wonder over everyone in the room. "I'm sure you all have noticed this ice problem getting worse these pass few weeks. All of Karakura is covered in it and temperatures are starting to drop."

"Yoruichi and I have been feeling a lot of lingering reiatsu at one of the shopping centers. We haven't found anything just yet," Urahara said.

Uryu hummed, "Maybe we can try searching in the daytime. It's unlikely there'll be anything in broad daylight but it's better to be sure."

Orihime smiled at him, "That sounds like a good idea."

Saya peeled the blankets back as she grabbed Zero and tiptoed to the door. There wasn't a single sound in the shop expect for the occasional light snore. Quietly creeping down the pitch black halls, she finally made it outside and slowly closed the door behind her. The air was sharp and crisp. Her breaths came out as frosty puffs but the cold didn't seem to faze her. She then sped off.

The night was dead silent, not even a cricket dared to speak. There wasn't a single lamp functioning due to the ice enveloping the once busy streets of Karakura. The way the moonlight reflected off of it was strikingly similar to the edge of a sword. Saya's footsteps were light as she darted roof to roof until coming across what she had been searching for.

Her eyes dilated before turning into blood red cat eyes. The wind rustled the leaves and her hair. As she drew her sword the sound of it screeching against its sheath was almost deafening. Leaping into the air, she raised Zero high above her head and slammed down on top of the unsuspecting Elder Barin. Before they could make a sound Saya rammed her katana into their head, instantly killing them.

She ripped an arm off and tilted her head back, allowing the blood to run into her mouth and smoothly down her throat. When she began gagging she threw the limb to the side. She swallowed thickly and let out a pleased sigh. The burning and itching in her throat that had spanned the past few days had finally stopped. Her gaze moved behind her at the sound of footsteps.

"You shouldn't wait so long to feed, Saya," Watanuki pointed out. His tone betrayed how irritated and worried he is despite his calm face.

"I know. I wasn't thinking about it very much." She stood up while wiping the blood trailing down her chin.

He crossed his arms and legs before leaning against a wall. "What are you going to do once Elder Barins go extinct?"

"Nothing."

He didn't seem very surprised by her answer. "I think you should tell your friends about your contract. And I mean _everything_."

She fiercely glared at him as soon as she heard the word friends. "I'm not friends with any of them and they don't need to know anything." Watanuki sighed while shaking his head. He decided not to say more about her relationship with them. He knew that was a losing battle.

"They might be able to help you break it. Shinigami have a lot at their disposal. The worse that can happen is there's nothing they can do," he felt his eyes burning.Taking a few deep breaths, he quickly blinked.

"Exactly. That's the worse that could happen. I won't rely someone else to—," she wrapped her arms around herself, "I'll never trust another person with my life." Watanuki opened his mouth to speak then stopped when he noticed the sky starting to light up with different shades of pink and orange. His shoulders slumped. There was nothing he could do to help on his own, he hated being so useless in this situation.

Saya walked closer and hesitantly pulled him into a hug. Watanuki squeezed her tightly to his chest as if he was afraid to let go. His tears finally fell.

"I don't want to lose you," he choked out, "You're lik—no," he sniffled. "You are my sister, Saya," he said this with such conviction that she had no doubt he meant that with all of his soul. Saya squeezed back, her body shaking with the effort to keep it together, to not break down and sob her heart out.

"And you are my brother," she said with just as much certainty.


	19. A Difficult Battle

* * *

The group came to a stop at the shopping center Urahara had given them directions to. As expected, there wasn't anyone else around.

Renji frowned as his eyes scanned his surroundings, "Doesn't look like anything's here. There's definitely a lot of reiatsu though."

"They must be very good at sensing it too. They leave whenever someone comes to investigate," Uryu said as he peeked around the corner of a store. Eventually everyone spread out to cover more ground. Rukia and Saya walked up to a restaurant with a swan fountain a few feet ahead of it but of course the water was frozen solid. Rukia's brows furrowed when she felt an odd shifting below her feet, like something rolling around.

She lifted her head to see if Saya had felt the same thing as well. Their eyes locked before they both nodded. Saya quickly drew her sword and threw the sheath into the air while Rukia exited her gigai.

"Go warn everyone we're about to engage in battle," she whispered in hopes of not alerting the Elder under them. The gigai took off as fast as they could. The two woman tensed when they heard a loud clink. A large, pale blue glyph with intricate designs and writing appeared directly under them. Before they could even blink the Elder Barin shot up from it and sent them flying.

"Greetings. I am the 3rd King," he offered a mocking bow. The King was enormous and their skin looked like cracked ice. A dark blue light could be seen between the small fractures. The boots they wore were covered with large spikes. And finally, they wielded a pure white sword. The King spread their arms wide, a maniacal smile on his face, "Show me whatcha got!"

"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" A pillar of ice encased the Elder. Saya and Rukia stumbled at the sudden raise in reiatsu. The pillar began glowing blue before absorbing into the laughing King. Rukia cried out as multiple ice sickles tore into her arms. Saya's eyes widened at the foot quickly coming at her, there wasn't enough time to dodge. She was sent crashing through the window of the restaurant and slammed past the wall leading to the kitchen. Blood smeared on the refrigerator behind her as she sled to the floor.

Her eyes turned red as she held a hand to her bleeding side. "Dammit..." At the sound of Rukia yelling in pain she pulled herself to her feet. Spiriting outside, she saw Rukia clutching her forearm, a long cut went from her shoulder to her wrist. Her entire sleeve was missing and her Zanpakuto had been stabbed into the ground a few feet away. Saya blocked the sword trying to cut her in half.

"Hado #33 Sokatsui!" Saya tilted her head to the side to make more room for the blue beam that zoomed past her. It hit the Elder right in the eye and exploded. He jumped back with a screech. "I can't use my Zanpakuto. Ice just makes him stronger."

"Can you still fight?"

"Of course." The two vanished. Rukia moved in front of the King's face and fired off more Kido. She shunpoed away just as Saya appeared in the sky, skirt billowing behind her. Spinning in the air, she flew down and quickly slashed at his arm. The King stared at the appendage in confusion, he roared and reeled back when suddenly his arm fell to the ground in 3 pieces.

The King's eyes settled on them, his face filled with rage and disbelief. A hoarse scream tore from his throat. Loud snapping was the only warning they got before a entire frozen tree came soaring at them. Rukia spun on her heel and pushed Saya out the way. There was a sickening crack as her nose broke, the ice on the tree shattered upon impact. Skidding to a stop, she maneuvered herself to land in a crouch, grimacing at the taste of her blood.

The King stomped closer, smashing the ice under his feet while doing so. Rukia jumped up as Saya brandished Zero, ready to cover Rukia as she's in the middle of charging a Kido. The King thrusted his sword at them. Rukia tucked her legs to her chest, she let her feet touch the blade to bounce higher while Saya ducked down. The King's eyes widened, he expected to kill one of them with that attack.

"Hado #73 Soren Sokatsui!" Two beams of bright blue light whorled around her then ripped a gaping hole straight through his leg. The King flung ice sickles at Saya, who was running towards his feet. Rukia called out to her as the spikes burrowed inside Saya's arms and back. She gasped and hovered her hand over one of them before pushing past the pain. She then jumped onto his leg. Rukia's eyes shined with determination. She fired off Kido after Kido. The King roared as he backhanded her into a wall. Her breathing was ragged as she slumped to the ground. Saya plunged Zero inside the King's back while she ran.

He wildly moved around until she couldn't keep her balance any more. As she was jumping onto a rooftop, the King sliced open her still healing stomach. He seized her in a merciless grip. A twisted smile slipped onto his face as he tightly squeezed, delighting at the sight of seeing her thrash around. He drew his arm back and hurled her to the ground, making a giant crater.

Saya grunted and spit up blood. She rolled to the side just as his sword slammed down beside her head, cutting off a few strands of her hair. Her eyes were calculating he swung at her again. She leaped into the air. Folding into a ball, she rolled onto the blade and ran, legs blurring due to her speed. She reached his arm and severed it clean off. Before the King could do a single thing, she was above his head. Zero began glowing a pale yellow.

Letting out a battle cry, she sliced his head down the middle. Upon landing on the ground, his head split into several pieces. Saya clumsily moved out of the away as the 3rd King's dead body fell beside her. She sighed as her shoulders slumped. No longer able to fight off her exhaustion, she sunk to the floor and rested her forehead against the hilt.

"Rukia! Saya!" She had a hard time lifting her head up but somehow managed it. There the rest of the group stood, they clearly had a tough fight of their own, Ichigo was even in his Bankai. They looked at the destruction in shock. Blood was splattered and smeared all over the place, trees had been uprooted, and buildings were ruined. Not to mention Rukia could barely breath and was cradling her ribs while Saya was covered in her own blood. And of course we can't forget about the corpse of the 3rd King. 

Orihime rushed forward and skidded to a stop on her knees in front of Saya. "Lay down!"

"I'm fine," she gestured with her head towards Rukia, "Help her." Orihime looked conflicted but nodded nonetheless and ran over to her. The ice around them began glowing blue so brightly it was almost blinding. It shattered but instead of falling down it transformed into these beautiful, small, white partials of light. They stared in awe as the light show slowly rose higher and higher into the sky before fading away.

Renji jumped onto a roof, "Hey! It looks like all of the ice is gone!"

Uryu crossed his arms and looked up at him, "Don't assume. We should check first." Renji sighed at the thought of having to make his way through the whole town but agreed. He sped off, Rangiku following behind him.

"I'm going home," Saya said while picking up her sheath from off the ground. She walked with a limp, hand pressed against her stomach wounds, and Zero held loosely between her fingers. Orihime pursed her lips as she watched her before turning to Ichigo and giving him an imploring look. He nodded and jogged to catch up with Saya. Ichigo sighed after a few minutes had passed.

"Get on my back."

"I'm fi—" she cut herself off and stared at him for a moment, "Alright." Ichigo blinked, he had expected for there to be a bit more resistance. Not that the change of heart wasn't welcome. Crouching down, he allowed her to climb on. Adjusting her so she was more comfortable, he continued walking her home.


	20. The Beginning Of The End

I shielded my eyes with my hand and squinted up at the ceiling. The bright rays of the sun were shining right into my room, making everything warm and tinged with yellow. Sitting up and stretching, I looked out the window. Surprisingly enough the streets were bustling with people. I guess everyone is excited about being able to go outside again. Cracking open the window, I slowly got ready for the day.

Now that the 3rd King is dead there's only one left to kill before this war on humans will be over. Meaning I don't have much time left.

I'm going to die soon.

When I first realized, it didn't really affect me. Life didn't have much meaning, after Zero died I had no idea what to do. Then that damned experiment happened and I only cared about wiping Fumito off the face of the Earth. Chasing him down filled me with a sense of purpose, even though I despise him I was comforted by having something to go after. But then I killed him. I thought I would feel...I don't know, satisfied? Happy?

Nothing. That's I got instead. After all of that hard work, tearing myself apart from the inside out, and when I finally got what I wanted it seemed so meaningless. I guess I thought once he died, how I felt about everything that happened would die along with him. Too bad that wasn't the case. In the end I just made everything worse for myself. At least I can say his death put an end to those awful experiments he was doing on people. Turning someone into an Elder Barin, taking away their humanity, that's just evil.

Now though, I'm feeling happy. Lighter. Everyday isn't crushing me into the ground. Life slowly began to have some significance to me. I still don't know what my purpose is, all I know is that protecting people is something that I've always done and will continue to do. Even though I have no real idea about what I want in the future, I've found some sort of meaning in my life. Knowing that I'm going to die soon, actually lose what has now become so important to me, is terrifying.

But this is how things are. And I'm glad that the last few months I had left to live was spent with these people I've met. I...I'll miss them. I'll miss seeing them, hanging out with them, the rare times I joked with them, fighting alongside them.

_Maybe we are friends._

A gentle breeze made the wind chime hanging in front of the door softly clink. Watanuki lead me into the dinning room.

"Everyone else should be here soon," keeping his tone sharp and cold, he continued on, "I hope you know that I hate seeing you destroy yourself." I pulled a chair out, the sound of it scraping against the spotless wood floor pierced through the quiet atmosphere.

Sitting down, I stared at my own nails digging into my crossed arms. "I know." He sighed with a slow shake of his head and gulped down the glass of water next to him.

"I refuse to stand by and watch any longer." I narrowed my eyes at him. Whatever he's planning I'm definitely not going to like. Watanuki glared back just as fiercely if not more. A knock made me straighten up in my seat. He walked off with a huff to go open the door. He came back with Uryu, Chad, Ichigo, Renji, Orihime, and Rukia right behind him.

"You're here to find out more about the 4th King, correct?"

"Ye—"

"Great," Watanuki kept talking as if Renji didn't say a word, "Don't interrupt me, I don't have much time right now. There's something important I have to do today." He walked over to the window and watched the people that passed by. "You won't start seeing Elder Barins until the 5th circle, they are also the only inhabitants on that circle and lower."

He held a hand up when Uryu opened his mouth, "Before you ask, yes living things do die in Hell. Something about the Elder Barin's territory does that so be on guard. You'll know when you've found were the King lives. Now please get out." Everyone warily looked at each other before standing up and heading for the door.

I stopped behind Watanuki, "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I—I'll miss you."

"Don't talk like...like you're going to die." My stomach twisted into painfully tight knots when his shoulders began shaking. It hurts that he won't even look at me, instead choosing to keep staring out the window. But I understand. It's too difficult, too _much_. I've already asked so much of him, this is the least I can do.

"It'll probably take a while until I actually die. If I make it out of Hell that is."

"You know this isn't the only option, right?"

"For me it is. I'm sorry," I whispered. Taking a deep breath, I stared walking towards the door, pointedly ignoring Watanuki's quiet sobs. I know if I don't I'll turn right back around and won't be able to go through with this.

"What's up with him?" Ichigo asked as soon as I stepped out the shop.

"He's just worried."

Orihime tilted her head to the side with a curious look on her face, "You two are really close aren't you?" she smiled.

"Yeah," I trailed off and fiddled with one of the ribbons in my hair. "I guess so. Anyways, where's Rangiku?"

"She went back to the Soul Society with the Captains. Everyone's making preparations for this last battle," Rukia said.

Uryu looked up to the sky, sunlight reflected off of his glasses in an almost ominous way. "I suppose the only thing we can do is train in the meantime. I have a feeling this fight isn't going to be easy."


End file.
